Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

What happened outside Leinster House on Monday morning is a tragedy for the whole country and, in particular, the Government. I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Jonathan, his family and his friends. The best thing we can do is to do something about the situation he faced on the streets night after night. When one contrasts what happened yesterday with the fact that NAMA, the largest state-owned property company in the world, is sitting on property, we can only ask why this happened.

The Minister has called a summit on Thursday. Will he invite the CEO of NAMA to the meeting to ask him exactly what properties are vacant and how they can be utilised? Can we establish how many suitable properties which could be used to solve the issue of rough sleeping as part of the emergency resolution are held in the city by NAMA? It cannot be impossible to deal immediately with the estimated 170 people who are sleeping rough in the city. As Father Peter McVerry said, such people are the ones people can see. It is the ones who are hiding and trying to protect themselves who should also be added to the list. There could be another 40 or 50 people sleeping rough.

The Archbishop of Dublin has said he has been invited to the summit. Can he be asked why 90 completed housing units at Father Scully House, built with 100% funding from the State and the city council and run by the Catholic Housing Aid Society, are lying idle because of the rent demands from that institution?

We see the same thing happening every year. We respond to the crisis, but we now need to put in place something that can deal with the crisis in the future. There should be a temporary three-year rent cap to deal with the crisis in the building of social housing, a rent supplement increase for those in immediate need and a longer-term plan to bring on board properties which will provide suitable accommodation, rather than the squalor I have seen in wet hostels, in which people can feel comfortable and secure. Many people will not stay in hostels because they are insecure, their belongings are stolen and the situation is chaotic.

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