One would not have to travel very far from Dáil Éireann any night to witness at first hand the rate of homelessness. It is quite disturbing to see people of all ages, men and women, sleeping rough on cardboard boxes and sleeping bags in the doorways throughout Dublin city. In my constituency office in recent months I have noticed an increase in the number of people requiring help with social welfare payments and entitlements. In many cases, for whatever reason, the Department is using the habitual residency clause to delay payments. Many of the people in question have no money and are under extreme pressure. The emergency budgets administered by community welfare officers are stretched and people are just not getting their money. That is happening more and more each week. The particularly bureaucratic nature of our systems and the retrenchment of many of our social services will contribute in a negative way to begging on the streets in future. Poverty related issues are likely to surface now that we are two years into the recession. The effects of long-term unemployment, the relentless nature of personal debt and the breakdown of relationships will manifest themselves on our streets in the years to come.

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