Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for the response although she did not answer the question I asked. I did not ask what the Government is doing in other aspects of housing policy, and I would have much to criticise in that regard, but what the Government will do specifically to ensure family hubs do not become long-term institutionalised settings for the families there.

The problem is that emergency accommodation is already a long-term reality for families. I quoted the figures to the Tánaiste. Some 70% of families with children currently in emergency accommodation are in there long term. That is according to the six-month definition set in Government policy. It is not enough for the Government to say it does not want hubs to become a long-term intervention. It has to take specific action to prevent it, and I would strongly recommend the actions included in the two reports.

When direct provision was introduced, people warned that what was promised as a temporary intervention would become permanent, and they were right. I appeal to the Tánaiste to respond directly to the four recommendations in these two reports. Will the Government support them and fully implement them?

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