Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well and congratulate him on becoming Minister of State. What is the new target date? When does the Minister of State expect that there will be no more families in hotels? The Minister of State spoke about fire safety and living standards of a legal standard yet only a couple of weeks ago, people were sent into Lynam's Hotel, which is basically a building site and where there is real danger in terms of fire safety. I believe there were chains on entrances, which is pretty outrageous.

One of the sites is the Bargaintown warehouse on Greencastle Parade in Coolock in my constituency, which will be converted to turn it into a family hub for 40 families. According to one of the reports I received, minor alterations would be necessary for what is essentially a factory building. In fact, it used to be a Data Products electronics factory. How can alterations be minor if the building is to be turned into a liveable, fire-safe and totally accessible residence for that many families with many children? We have been told that it may cost €3.5 million. The Salvation Army is supposed to be the estate manager. Could the Minister of State confirm that this is the kind of money we are talking about?

The Government is forging ahead with this model. Clearly, supply is still the problem. When we look at the report from Mr. Brendan Kenny from Dublin City Council, we can see the breakdown of figures is as follows: new family hubs involve 254, re-classification involves 371, rapid build involves 131, HAP involves 300, acquisitions involve 150 and social housing involves 248. Mr. Kenny comes up with a total of 1,454 homes for families in distress who could be on the housing waiting list for very long periods of time. I often represent people who have been on the waiting list for eight, ten or 12 years, are in desperate accommodation, are faced with eviction or are in hotels. They will now be in hubs. The Minister of State's job is to move on housing supply. This is not a solution. As the Minister of State said, this cannot be regarded as a solution. The Minister of State is the former Chairman of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight, of which I am a proud member. Quite clearly, we need a housing programme that will deliver safe, secure and long-term local authority or voluntary housing body homes for our constituents. The hubs are not the answer. They are a deplorable development.

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