Mr. Sean Moynihan, the CEO of ALONE, said 25% of calls to ALONE relate to older people’s housing needs. This is a measure of the fact that more than 4,700 older people in Ireland are in need of housing.

Some 156 families, including 341 children are living in Dublin hotels, which is unacceptable. The important thing is to try to get a programme going that would deal with this situation. The Minister should bear in mind the words of Brother Kevin Crowley, the founder of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People, about the fact that we are badly in need of emergency accommodation. He also referred to the fact that the night bus service had ceased, which included ring-fenced accommodation. There are serious issues which we should examine. Brother Crowley talked about very vulnerable people being pushed to the bottom in the housing crisis, and we should keep this in mind. I would like the Minister to give us an idea of the Government’s thinking about dealing with homeless people.

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