Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Practices that in normal circumstances would never be countenanced are sometimes allowed to become commonplace during a prolonged and entrenched crisis. Is the Cabinet holding any discussions on legislation to deal with the exploitation of homeless people? We have seen a number of very serious breaches - these would normally never happen if there were not a prolonged housing crisis - in the context of the way landlords behave but also, unofficially, in the way the new type of landlords are behaving. I refer, in particular, to the overcrowding in the house in Cabinteely. Can legislation be introduced to stop landlords from doing something like this in the future? Following an incident in Mountjoy Square last night, Dublin Fire Brigade reported 150 people living in three houses. I know these houses and I calculate that they should not hold more than 70 to 80 people. An Internet café on Talbot Street is allowing people to sleep on the floor overnight. Those individuals are being charged a tenner a night to sleep on the floor or under desks. Will legislation to deal with the consequences of this disgraceful prolonged homeless crisis - by means of which what would never normally be tolerated is being allowed to become the norm in our society - be introduced?

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