Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are facing one of the biggest housing crises in the history of this State. A total of 5000 men, women, and children are trapped in emergency accommodation with no hope of a home anytime soon. Homelessness has increased by 80%, the number of children who are homeless has doubled, and 73 new families became homeless last month. In Dublin alone there are over 1,500 children in emergency accommodation. It certainly is not a lifestyle choice. People listening at home to the last contribution must be fuming. The idea that people deliberately make themselves homeless and stay in hotel rooms when they have the option of going home is not dealing with the issue. There may be one or two who do that but the majority of families we talk to do not have a choice. We need to nail that lie tonight. It does not happen. Let us be honest in this debate.

This is not a Government failure, according to the Taoiseach. He claims the lack of house building is a county manager problem. There is a bed for every homeless person if they want it, he claimed yesterday. Progress is being made on this issue, according to the Taoiseach. Meanwhile, the human tragedy continues with more and more families and individuals becoming homeless. More and more families and individuals are waiting longer and longer for accommodation and a place they can call home. Looking around the doorways of this city today we see the extent of the homelessness situation. I was recently made aware of a man who became homeless with his two children. He was walking the streets during the day and his family slept in the departure lounge of Dublin Airport at night, telling anyone who asked that they were waiting for a flight. This man is now living in Cork, although he is originally from the constituency I represent.

Rent certainty is the minimum that Sinn Féin wants. In government we would be committed to introducing strong rent regulations. We are putting this Bill forward because we feel it is a moderate proposal and the Government has no rational excuse to oppose it. Preventing someone from becoming homeless is the most sensible approach to tackling homelessness while of course we need measures to house people already in homelessness.

Our Bill prioritises preventative measures. Government inaction has created this multifaceted housing crisis. There is no one solution to the current emergency, it needs short-term emergency action, and medium and long-term action to stop people becoming homeless. Our Bill is one step on that road. An important first step would be for the Government to accept there is a crisis, acknowledge the scale of the problem and support this Bill tonight.

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