Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government states very clearly the Government wants to deal with the housing and homelessness crisis across the country. While homelessness in the city of Dublin in particular is very evident because we all see it in front of us, homelessness in rural counties such as Leitrim, where I come from, is equally as big a problem but is not so apparent. We have people coming into my constituency office every day who are sleeping on couches or staying with parents, which is inappropriate for their time of life. Families are moving back in with grandparents. We have this sort of thing happening because we do not have a sufficient level of social housing being provided. In addition, we have a whole lot of landlords who refuse to accept tenants under the HAP scheme and use every excuse they can to stop people from getting housing. When will the Government deal with this issue in rural Ireland and ensure an adequate number of social houses is provided?

See this speech in context