Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am always concerned when making a proposal here that some vacuous and cheap editor of a newspaper will interpret it incorrectly. For example, in the homelessness debate that has been taking place for the past few days the most obvious solution to avoid having people sleep rough on the streets is the introduction of legislation to make it illegal to sleep on the streets. Sometimes a complex question can be answered by a simple solution. I am sure that if I were to put this forward as a proposal, the headline in the newspapers would read: "TD wants homeless people sent to jail". That is how it would be portrayed. However, the purpose of the legislation would be to place an onus on the statutory bodies to provide people with accommodation. I do not know if the homelessness problem can be solved in its totality. The catch phrase "if money and beds could solve the problem of homelessness, it would have been solved long ago" is often used. Homelessness is a complex problem. Perhaps there might be a need to consider the introduction of legislation to prohibit sleeping rough in particular areas. A similar provision applies in the case of graffiti on walls in that one can make a complaint against the body that owns the premises, be it a private or statutory body. I am not sure if anybody has actually made a complaint under the relevant section of the applicable legislation, but there is an onus on us all to bring forth proposals. It is easy to stand here and castigate the Government over Irish Water, even though much of it justified.

It is the responsibility of a Minister to manage his or her Department and the responsibility of the Taoiseach to manage his Ministers. A real shortcoming has been our inability to pull the Taoiseach up on his need to front every jobs announcement. I know that we all have to engage in a certain amount of PR, but is it a proper use of time to have the Taoiseach travelling to the far end of County Cork, County Wicklow or anywhere else to front a 50 or 100 jobs announcement? While all jobs are important and credit should be given where it is due, in particular to the many fantastic agencies which are working hard to assist in job creation, is it even necessary for a Minister or a local Deputy to front jobs announcements? Can we not just do our jobs? While it is important that job statistics are highlighted, spending half a day travelling around the country in what is a PR exercise is not, to me, a good use of time.

The Sinn Féin Deputies present in the House were getting a little agitated at my remarks.

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