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

I intend to speak on the amendment tabled by my colleague, Deputy Ellis, rather than the Fianna Fáil motion, although I support the overarching theme of that proposal and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue.

The basis of this motion is to highlight the need for social housing and to address the homelessness crisis. The crisis, which is a damning legacy of the Government, has brought about the decimation of the working class left in its wake. This issue has been raised time and again until we and the media have become blue in the face. However, the Government seems to be ideologically opposed to dealing with the crisis or to admitting that we have a housing crisis in this State.

We have been told on numerous occasions that this Government is doing its best. Evidently, the best of this Government is simply not good enough. No serious effort has been made to stem this tide. Day after day goes by with ever-increasing numbers. Evictions occur daily and there is little concern about the fallout for those involved. Families are living in circumstances with unknown and limited security. Children travel across cities to get to school, returning only to their cramped accommodation in the evenings. This is not an environment conducive to normal day-to-day living, let alone the development of a child and his or her education. Adults, where they are lucky enough to have emergency accommodation, are subjected to a multitude of difficulties in their attempts to balance family life while dealing with the stress of the crisis they find themselves in.

I watched the "Prime Time" documentary entitled "My Homeless Family" last Monday night, and it caused my blood to boil. We now have people who are classed as working homeless in Ireland. It is almost unfathomable, yet this Government is running for re-election on the mantra of making work pay. I am in full agreement that work should pay, yet we have people grafting daily for hard-earned money while living in emergency accommodation. They try to maintain something close to a normal family life as much as possible while holding on to their jobs. This is unbelievable, yet it is true.

The figures from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government suggest that 28 council houses were built in the first nine months of 2015. This is indicative of the attitude of this Government towards our most vulnerable. The crisis has been ongoing and has been highlighted for a number of years. With the run-in to the election, it has suddenly become an issue for this Government. It is a pity the Government did not proactively intervene earlier in the Dáil term. In the upcoming election the voters will have a choice. They can choose to re-elect this Government. However, that comes with a price. They should be prepared for five more years during which the voices of the most vulnerable will go unheard. This crisis will be allowed to fester. How long more can citizens sit back and allow this to happen? I for one hope this crisis can be addressed before we lose another human being on the streets of our towns and cities.

The issue of unaffordable rents must be met head-on. The fact that 95% of those in receipt of rent supplement are unable to afford market rents must be addressed. The fact that 1,600 children reside in emergency accommodation is nothing short of a national scandal. No one is saying the fix can happen overnight. It is systemic. The problem is that the broken cogs within the system are not being replaced or repaired.

In recent days I have become concerned by the erection of barriers outside an Office of Public Works building in Dublin 1. According to many people, they were erected to prevent homeless people from sleeping outside the building. This falls under the remit of the Department of Social Protection, which is primarily responsible for those persons who may find themselves homeless. The director of Inner City Helping Homeless, Anthony Flynn, has been quoted as saying that this is a most unsympathetic way of dealing with the homelessness crisis. He said it was a not-on-my-doorstep attitude, and we certainly condemn it. The Department has shown a real lack of consideration and empathy. I am keen to hear the Department's reasons for it. This is symbolic of the attitudes of those in power and it is certainly not the way to deal with the crisis. In fact, it is counterproductive. I hope this issue can be resolved as soon as possible. We are judged on how we treat our most vulnerable, and rightly so. Those in government should take a long hard look at themselves and the perspective through which they see our homelessness crisis.

See this speech in context