Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The waiting list in Wexford is 3,600 and 19 units will be constructed in the next three years. Where, in God's name, is the common sense there? We talk about tackling domestic violence. The Minister may be interested to hear that the women's refuge centre in Wexford turned away 338 women and 259 children last year. This is directly linked to the housing crisis in Wexford because there is nowhere for them to go and there is no room for them in the refuge centre. The private rental market discriminates against people on rent supplement and that is a fact. The people relying on rent supplement end up in the poorest housing in the poorest areas. It is an extension of ghettoisation which successive Governments have not addressed and which has been perpetrated by the likes of the Construction Industry Federation which has refused to implement Part V in the manner for which it was designed. The Government could do something about this and it has an opportunity to change it.

The Government could start introducing real social housing that is State-built, high-quality and affordable in well-structured neighbourhoods. The Government can address homelessness, inequality, equality of opportunity and quality of life in the process.

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