Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is important to support the Bill, which seeks to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000.

I wish to express my disappointment at the number of rough sleepers in our streets today. The Government has done little to fix the current housing crisis. It is now more than 15 months since A Programme for a Partnership Government was introduced. In the programme, the Government dedicated a whole section on ending the housing shortage and homelessness. Yet, today Dublin Regional Housing Executive published figures, including the figure of 184 rough sleepers in the city on the night of 7 November last. That was the highest this figure has been since the official count began more than ten years ago.

I cannot see any substantial efforts being made to fulfil the promise of ending homelessness. I cannot see any actions being carried out to reduce it by the Government.

In the first place, it is shameful that families are moving around our towns and cities, sleeping in doorways and under windowsills as they seek to find shelter from the weather. What is much more shameful are the barriers, spikes and water sprinklers put in place by property owners to stop homeless people from gaining shelter. These are truly inhumane measures that should not be allowed.

Every week, new motions from all elements of the Opposition are introduced in an effort to tackle the housing crisis but we have seen little action on the Government side. Recent figures show that 1,442 families are homeless, an increase of 25% since this time last year. While I appreciate that the housing crisis will take a long time to fix, we have heard much talk but seen no action on housing shortages in my constituency of Cork South-West. Every day of the week, constituents on the verge of homelessness call to my office and visit my clinics. Many are sleeping in the homes of family members and plead with me to find them a house. The sad reality is that no houses are being built to meet demand.

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