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

Alan Murphy died on the streets of our city last Friday. He was a man in his thirties, sleeping rough only minutes away from this place. Alan was not the first person to die on our streets and I fear he will not be the last.

Last December, Jonathan Corrie tragically lost his life while sleeping rough minutes from the Dáil. In response to the public outcry, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, who has responsibility for housing, Deputy Alan Kelly, promised action. The Taoiseach gave an emotional message of support to people left homeless, assuring them that they were not on their own.

Alan Murphy died alone on our streets last week. His death is yet another symbol of the failure of the Government to address the housing crisis. Since Mr. Corrie’s death last December the number of families presenting as homeless has increased.

The number of children sleeping in emergency accommodation every night has increased. Rents have continued to spiral upwards and evictions are becoming more frequent. More and more families turn to the State for help but instead of being offered shelter we have the appalling situation of scores of families being turned away every night, unable to source even emergency accommodation. Meanwhile, councils desperately wait for the funds to build the homes these families need and charities desperately wait for funds to provide much-needed emergency accommodation.

What will the Taoiseach do for the families who will not be able to access emergency accommodation tonight? When will the Taoiseach and his Minister release the long-promised funding to allow councils to start building?

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