Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The basis of this motion is once again to highlight the need for social housing and how the crisis is just becoming worse as time goes on. An estimated 5,000 people are living in emergency accommodation in this State today. In Dublin alone, more than 1,200 children are living in these unsustainable conditions. That is double the number of people from this time last year. These families are living in circumstances with unknown and limited security. Children travel across cities on buses to get to school every morning, returning to their cramped accommodation in the evenings to attempt their day’s homework. Meanwhile all other activities that would be seen as normal within the average family home go on around them in a very confined space. This is not a conducive environment for normal day to day living let alone the development of a child and their education.

The Simon Community states that the number of families now sleeping rough has also doubled. I take this opportunity to reiterate what the Simon Community has said, namely, that "This is a humanitarian crisis". It is somewhat indicative of this Government and the issues it seems to prioritise, that even on the back of tragic deaths of the late Jonathan Corrie last December and Alan Murphy as recently as last Friday, both so close to the doorsteps of this house, that the aforementioned figures have doubled and still continue to rise.

Although temporary accommodation is of course a better alternative than no accommodation whatsoever, it once again comes back to the question of whether this is sustainable, and I am concerned that the Government may see this as a longer term plaster over a gaping wound that is a social housing crisis.

I also maintain my reservations around the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and the stipulations attached to it. There are currently 130,000 on waiting lists. It all appears to be a bureaucratic mess, with tenants and landlords who are availing of this scheme having to jump through countless hoops. As a result, landlords are not keen to engage with the scheme, resulting in minimal take up of it. A study by the Simon Communities last July noted that fewer than 8% of properties to rent in Dublin were affordable within State rent payment caps, which is nowhere near enough given waiting list numbers.

I wish to highlight access to social housing and the catch-22 position that some people seem to find themselves in with regard to availing of these services. For example, in the case of a one-parent family with one or two children living in an urban area, the income threshold for this family to qualify for the social housing list is €35,875 with one child, or €36,750 with two children. That is the situation in Dublin and bear in mind that it is much less throughout the rest of the country. For anyone who earns above this threshold, taking into account ever rising rent prices, the ever increasing standard of living and the astronomical cost of child care in the country, it is almost impossible to see how this parent could make ends meet. Bear in mind that if one is not on the social housing list, one does not qualify for rent allowance and one has to pay the full market rent, but if one's income is just above the social housing threshold, one will never earn enough money to qualify for a mortgage.

These are the type of people who end up as another statistic on the homeless register - people who are outside of thresholds by such a minimal amount, people who are just one or two wage packets away from losing everything they have. An effort should be made to increase these thresholds and, as a result, extend a sense of security to citizens who find themselves in this situation. Once again, the treatment of the homeless, and those who are struggling merely to get by, does not seem to be of paramount importance to those in government and displays somewhat of a detachment from reality.

Now, coming into the winter months, with the nights getting colder, the risk to health comes to the forefront once again. A warm and safe place to sleep at night is not a certainty for many people. Homeless services and charities are at capacity as it is and are already under a considerable amount of pressure to cope with the crisis at present. The workers within these services are at breaking point and this burden should be addressed and relieved as soon as possible.

Access to housing is an issue that, if not addressed immediately, will only lead to more tragic stories like the ones that we have heard in the media and are already too common. Measures need to be taken immediately if this crisis is to be tackled in any sort of a sustainable manner.

I hope this motion can garner the support of all Deputies with the aim of helping those who are most vulnerable and at risk.

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