Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is clear from the contributions of previous speakers that homelessness is a huge problem. Many of us have concerns about families being housed in hotels where there is only one room and very little space available to young children to participate in normal family activities. This Government has committed €7 million to housing authorities in 2016 for measures such as housing purchase. In my constituency, St. Teresa's Gardens and Dolphin House are being de-tenanted and many people have been transferred under this scheme.

The council has been buying houses with money from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to facilitate the de-tenanting of St. Teresa's Gardens so a new build can begin.

The return of voids is also very important in my constituency. In the past couple of months, 23 flats in Basin Street flats were put back into use. Unfortunately for the people living in Summer Street flats, there are eight units there still void. They are on the top floor and must be brought into use immediately. The money has been allocated to the city council for the refurbishment of the roof but it appears to be taking some time. Perhaps the Minister could do something to hurry that up because those units could be used. The roll-out of housing assistance payment, HAP, is very important, as is the provision regarding homeless households in the allocation of tenancies under the control of the housing authorities in each council.

The only way of resolving this crisis is to build, not only social housing but also private housing. Many people are seeking to be housed whether it is in social housing or in private units. The Minister should also consider, as part of any future review of this, building more senior citizens' units. On a daily basis, I get telephone calls from people who are living in a three-bedroom house but who only use one room downstairs. They would gladly transfer to a senior citizens' complex within their community where they can live out the rest of their lives, when the units would be returned to the authority. That is an important move we should consider.

I welcome the provision of modular housing for homeless people by the Government. Some people say it is short-sighted but I do not believe it is. We have been told by the Minister and the Department that an average modular house can be of use for 30 to 50 years and that is important. However, I urge caution in this regard. There must be consultation with residents in the areas. One cannot simply walk in, take over a site and build houses. There must be consultation with residents. That is one of the huge problems that could occur, which will further delay the process with modular housing.

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