Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We heard the sad news today of the death late last week of a man called Paul Gorman in Dundalk. It seems the cause of death was that he had been sleeping out overnight and was exposed to the cold weather. We pass our thoughts and prayers to his family. Similarly, we heard yesterday that the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin increased by 50% to 140 in the past year. Those working in the area are concerned that does not fully reflect the level of the crisis in housing and homelessness facing us. There is talk that people are starting to sleep in tents in green areas in Dublin. This reflects the scale of the crisis. Tent cities will possibly grow up in the city unless we start to address this issue. There are over 5,000 people in emergency accommodation. Can the Taoiseach tell me that we will have space for those 140 people during the cold period in the year, and facing into the new year, so that no more people die of exposure from sleeping out? While emergency hostels are opening, they are not enough to deal with the crisis.

Second, and more important, what does the Taoiseach want to do to deal with the rent crisis, which is the underlying reason for the homelessness crisis? I know the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has a building plan, but that will take several years. It is matched with a support plan for the construction industry, which I fear will only make the rent and housing crises worse. What other measures will the Taoiseach consider? I see the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is here now and may be able to assist in the answer. Will we do as they do in Belgium when the temperature drops below a certain level and open up State buildings to make sure we do not have any shortfall, or will we do what Germany does by allowing rent increases mirror only what has happened in a particular area over the previous four years and restrict the level of rent increases - not allowing an increase above 20% - so that families are not forced into homelessness and emergency accommodation, or men and women forced to sleep rough? We are not doing enough. I know we have a constitutional right to the protection of property but the Constitution also imposes social duties. We are not treating this homelessness crisis with the severity that it needs, particularly the short-term crisis of people sleeping rough. What will the Taoiseach do this cold winter to avoid any further deaths on our streets?

See this speech in context