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

I provide statistics from some of the housing organisations. In quarter 1 of 2015, one homeless group worked with 116 homeless children in Dublin. That was an 87% increase on the 62 children they worked with in quarter 1 of 2014. Another organisation tells me that its view is that while it is waiting for the initiatives to make progress, 70-plus children will become homeless every month. I was outside with others yesterday, including Deputy Joan Collins, at the lone parent family protest. They make up 60% of the families in emergency accommodation. In July, a further 30,000 one-parent households will be affected by the last phase of the one-parent family payment reform. There are real concerns among housing organisations that the reform will push lone parents further from the workforce and expose them to a higher risk of homelessness. We know that social housing is a major part of the answer, but it is reckoned that the plan to build 1,700 social housing units by 2017 will provide 2% of the housing needed by those currently on the social housing list, which is being added to all the time.

Focus Ireland ran an e-mail campaign recently on foot of which approximately 4,000 e-mails were sent to the Taoiseach. The e-mails were on particular issues including rent certainty and increasing rent supplement to reflect market value, but there was also a call to provide that when a family is assessed by a local authority as being homeless, the local authority must then provide a place to stay until more suitable accommodation is available. The call was for local authorities to be resourced to do that. The Taoiseach did not reply. I am asking for the Tánaiste's response and I ask her to ensure that this becomes seen as the urgent matter it is. Some of us are in constituencies that are particularly affected by this, including the Tánaiste. Given that we can make other issues urgent, why not the housing issue?

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