Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach keeps telling us that the country has the fundamentals right. Is there anything more fundamental than having a roof over one's head? As has been said already, just yards from here a man, Mr. Jonathan Corrie, died on our streets. It was a needless and lonely death and it is just plain wrong.

This is combined with a situation whereby hundreds of children and their families are forced to exist in temporary accommodation. It is a fundamental statement of what the Taoiseach views as the priorities. He said hostel and temporary accommodation is not ideal, but it has become almost normal. There is nothing normal about families living in temporary hostel accommodation. All his pronouncements at home and abroad of how we have turned a corner never include any reference to the social consequences. That is where the Taoiseach seems to be thoroughly detached from the realities of many people's lives.

On television last night I saw the Taoiseach spitting fire about the awful allegations of abuse in a County Mayo care home. He was livid. He described the situation in the care home as intolerable. I am still waiting for that sense of outrage from him in regard to homelessness and the families existing in temporary accommodation. Long-term damage is being done to children who are in stressful environments with their families.

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