Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In addition to all of that, the Taoiseach cited the issue of housing and accommodation as one of the core issues to be tackled to facilitate people's return. As he is aware, there is a housing crisis throughout the State, particularly in the city of Dublin. The Taoiseach is aware that more than 40,000 families are on Dublin City Council's housing waiting list and that Dublin City Council has been left some €18.5 million short in respect of resources required for its homelessness service. I previously raised this issue with the Taoiseach and made him aware of the fact that there had been correspondence to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on this matter from the mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh. Not alone has she not had the courtesy of a response from the Minister, there has been no affirmative statement from Government to make it clear that this €18.5 million shortfall will be bridged and that the necessary resources will be provided to Dublin City Council.

If the Government is not resourcing emergency interventions and is not prepared to resource home building and accommodation for the population we currently have, it has a major difficulty in attracting people home. There must be a reality check on this. It cannot simply be about slogans and a looming election. I doubt whether there is a family in the country that has not lost somebody to emigration over recent years. It is certainly the case in my family and it is the same across the board. Those who wish to come home need to be given every opportunity to do so, including dislodging bottlenecks in career pathways but also dealing with perhaps the most basic requirement for a returning emigrant, namely, a roof over his or her head.

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