Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. We need to determine the types of homelessness that face society. Unfortunately, some people are homeless due to an underlying problem. If we do not tackle the root cause of why people with these underlying problems are homeless, we will not arrive at a solution. I have seen many cases where the cause of homelessness is drink or some other issue and for these, even if we had tin houses for them, they would not live in them. Unfortunately, despite the legislation that has been introduced during the past five or six years, we have a situation where if people do not go someplace for help, there is nothing we can do to solve the problem. I have seen this myself time and again.

The other side of homelessness is happening in middle Ireland. Unfortunately, some of those people who had large mortgages have lost their homes through no fault of their own because of the downturn. These people are homeless now, but it is not their fault. We need to tackle this problem but we need to do so in a realistic manner. I understand we are going down the road of modular homes but I firmly believe that we have all we need to build homes. We have the bricks and the mortar and the skillsets required and if councils have land, houses can be built at a reasonable price. If an effort is made to do so, there is no reason a house cannot be built in 16 to 20 weeks. I know some companies in Ireland are producing modular homes but I do not believe we should import units we could build here, while also creating employment at the same time. That would be a win-win situation that would help our economy.

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