Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I certainly agree with you on that, a Cheann Comhairle. The Dublin Simon Community launched its annual review today. The report on the worsening statistics regarding housing need is an indictment of the Government. There are 5,000 citizens in temporary shelter throughout the State, including 1,500 children. There are nearly 2,300 people in emergency accommodation in this city, including almost 1,300 children, and the number of homeless children in Dublin has increased by 63%. The Taoiseach may note that the Simon Community has rightly described this as a humanitarian crisis.

Last Christmas, the Taoiseach made much of his time on the streets meeting those citizens living rough and at risk following the death of Jonathan Corrie, who died on a doorway opposite this Chamber. The failure of Government policy is evident in the reality that there are now more citizens sleeping rough today than there were when Jonathan Corrie died. That is the reality and the consequence of Government policy.

Throughout the State there are 130,000 citizens seeking a home. Almost 5,000 of these live my constituency of Louth. Throughout the State there has been an increase of 40,000 in the past four years since the Taoiseach came into Government. This housing crisis is by no means confined to Dublin. Waterford has seen a 74% rise in the number of people presenting as homeless in the first eight months of this year. This humanitarian crisis is a direct result of Government policies. There is a chronic lack of social and affordable housing. The Government has built only a fraction of the social housing needed. The Government has refused to tackle rising rents or rent uncertainty. It has refused to remove the veto from the banks. How bad does the crisis have to get before the Government takes appropriate and urgent action?

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