Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We know what the needs are. Some 90,000 families are on the waiting list nationally. In Dublin alone, there are 16,100 families on it. This amounts to approximately 170,000 individuals, which the population of Wexford and Leitrim combined. This is not a question of having discussions or waiting for a month or three weeks to have a meeting. The problem needs to be addressed now; we know what the needs are. There is a housing crisis. There has been a 60% increase in the number of homeless over the past three years. Moreover, there are those who cannot afford to pay their rent, and the rental accommodation scheme is not an option for them. The local authorities cannot provide housing for them.

Deputy Catherine Murphy said that yesterday the housing officer in Kildare interviewed 16 families and could not take on the extra people who needed to speak to the homelessness agent. One family approached the Deputy after its having split up. They have nowhere to go. The father is currently sleeping on a couch in circumstances in which his life has already been threatened, but he cannot leave. The mother, who has fallen ill, and the nine-year-old boy are staying with a friend. There are so many such cases that an immediate, emergency response is required. We must put ourselves on a war footing. This is not something to be discussed down the line. We need to hear such a response from the Taoiseach today.

There are people experiencing homelessness. I hope none of us present will ever experience it. Many people are only a week away from homelessness. We want to see action on this and an emergency approach. It is not good enough to say discussions have been taking place over a period. Amnesty International has stated this is a human rights issue.

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