Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share the concerns of Deputy Durkan, a Government party Member, who is exasperated and at a loss in trying to find out the exact housing allocations necessary for this problem and the plans for them to be delivered. I also echo the concerns of Deputy Stanley when he spoke about County Laois, and the issue is no different in Offaly and many other counties throughout the country. The problem is even greater in Dublin.

Since the Government took office, we have had a 2011 housing strategy and we were told there would be a social dividend from NAMA. We have also had the Construction 2020 plan and a housing Bill to be finished later today which, as somebody noted in last week's debate, contains no houses but rather deals with housing supports. That is instead of addressing housing needs. As I indicated last week, there is a sleight of hand with regard to waiting list figures, with people coming off a list if they get a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

The Minister of State has reiterated the big issue of funding time and again.

The Minister of State's line Minister has not been successful in sourcing adequate funding to address this problem in a meaningful way. It is not just a problem, it is a total crisis. If funding could be derived from the National Pensions Reserve Fund to fund the establishment of Irish Water and all that is associated with it, surely the Cabinet could make an effort to find funding from a similar source to address this issue, which must be addressed, taken seriously and dealt with.

The platitudes can stop. I spoke to housing agencies only this morning, for example, Alone, which works with the elderly in Dublin. It was consulted on a Friday about making a submission on policy and had a weekend in which to write a submission. There will be a housing summit later this week and we have no idea of its format. Maybe the Minister of State will enlighten us about its process.

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