Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. This issue was raised recently during Leaders' Questions by Deputy Ó Cuív. The Simon Community has said that in its history the crisis has never been as bad, particularly in Dublin. In the programme for Government, there is a commitment to ending long-term homelessness for families and the need to sleep rough. The tragic case of poor Jonathan Corrie last December, which happened just outside the Dáil, was shocking. That sparked an impetus and a focus to deal with this issue. However, until the Government directly deals with the supply issue and brings more social housing on line, it will have extreme difficulty in dealing with the issue. Is there an initiative to stop soaring rents which are resulting in an increase in the number of people facing homelessness? For instance, is the Minister considering providing tax relief to landlords so that they accept people in receipt of rent supplement?

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