Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On 14 May last, I asked the Tánaiste a question about the devastating impact on some children of living in inappropriate accommodation as a result of the terrible effects of successive Governments' housing policies or lack thereof.

I was looking particularly at children in direct provision and children living in bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation. One week later, two reports came out that confirmed what I was saying. There was a HIQA report which showed that 14% of children of asylum seekers living in direct provision accommodation were not safe. They were subject and exposed to domestic violence, physical abuse and isolation. The report of the office of the Ombudsman for Children showed that in 2008 6.8% of children were living in consistent poverty, while today it is 11.7%, which translates to 138,000 children. The quotes I take from the report are: "The Government is tolerating unacceptable levels of child poverty," and "B&B accommodation impacts negatively on family life and children's development." Last week, we had a report from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commissioner, who asked in an article she wrote how the Government would explain and defend the increased poverty rates we see and why many groups already susceptible to poverty and inequality were disproportionately affected by the recession. Children are part of that group.

I cannot but be struck by what I have said here, given aspects of the debate on the commission of investigation over the last few days. One of these was the question of whether the write-down was €110 million or €119 million. The €9 million discrepancy was bandied about as if it were €9. There is no doubt that there has been preferential treatment for the privileged few, while the reality for those who suffered vicious cuts is very different. Housing is one of the casualties. In her reply on 14 May, the Tánaiste gave me various answers to the housing issue, but in the meantime all of the homeless charities have seen families living in unsuitable and risky places. There is also a fear that children will be joining the numbers of rough sleepers. We know the problems, and HAP was presented as one of the solutions. However, the homeless charities are saying there are areas in which HAP will not work, given that it was supposed to match market value. We had another answer around rent control and rent management, and I ask what is happening in that regard. The other aspect is that we have examples of international best practice. Holland is one country in which there are landlords who want to get into the private rented market. Has that been looked at? My general question is this: where is the urgency to address this crisis?

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