Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is sleepwalking through the crisis. Last year Focus Ireland saw eight families going homeless every month. This year the figure is 50 per month. That is Focus Ireland alone. The Taoiseach referred to the pilot scheme which it initiated. This cannot be solved on a case-by-case basis; it requires a system-wide response. The most effective emergency response is to raise the rent caps. People are currently restricted in what they can pay if they are in receipt of rent allowance. Basically, it is completely out of kilter with what the market is demanding in rents, with the result that thousands of low income families across the country cannot access private rented accommodation. Will the Taoiseach face up to that, accept that the change was catastrophic and recognise that something needs to happen? The rent allowance caps have to be raised immediately and rent control has to be considered if that is an issue. A change to the rent allowance caps would make an immediate difference. The 700 children who are sleeping in hotel rooms or bed and breakfasts tonight cannot wait until 2020 to have this problem solved. One child said she did not want to be in a hotel room for Christmas because it is just a room. There are many more quotes.

Every Government should have key priorities. The Taoiseach chose his own priorities in the budget by looking after people who are in far better conditions than the people affected by the appalling homelessness scandal we are now witnessing. It is within the power of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to do something about it, however, and I urge them to change tack and increase the rent allowance as a matter of urgency.

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