Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The European social pillar document and strategy launched at the summit sets out a series of principles of social policy, which are accepted by member states. It has no justiciable basis, of course, but it is intended as a means of setting broad objectives for national and European Union activity.

It is a very worthy document but it is not clear what importance is attached to it. It is a pity the Government did not publish a national position on that document beforehand, which we could have debated in the House. There is a failure when we develop inflated rhetoric about social policy which is not followed up by action because of basic issues such as the European Union budget and widely differing social support systems. I recall plenty of rhetoric around social guarantees and the Youth Guarantee but it was just rhetoric, with little funding to support it. Can the Taoiseach detail what specific actions he is undertaking following the signing of the European Pillar of Social Rights?

The document mentions individual access to housing and the Taoiseach will note that, despite the attempt to relativise homelessness figures at the Fine Gael conference, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has admitted the problem will get worse. I have heard that phrase previously. When the Taoiseach was appointed Minister for Health one of his first pronouncements was that the situation would get worse and, by God, it did get worse. I got very worried, therefore, when the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government said at the Fine Gael conference that the situation would get worse. How worse will it get before it will improve? Has the Taoiseach any idea of what his Minister was commenting on?

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