Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am on the Committee on Housing and Homelessness and I have just taken a break to ask this question. One of the contributions to the committee came from SONAS housing association which reported that women and children are choosing to stay in violent homes rather than go into homelessness. The health of children and women is being jeopardised because of this situation.

The Minister took a very controversial decision to join the Government which has overseen a doubling of homelessness. I assume she factored all that in when she took that decision. How does she see this situation being ended without emergency measures being taken to build homes for those who need them and serious tackling of the wealth that exists in this society? We have seen the rich list. The people at the top have doubled their wealth, yet we have people living in these situations. In 2014, there were 465 adults with children and there were 726 children homeless in Ireland. Now there are 1,570. Why did the Minister take such a controversial decision to join the Government that allowed this situation to develop in the first place?

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