Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am acutely aware how tragic it is that as the Dáil begins its final debates before Members rise for Christmas, they must once again discuss the failure of the Government and the State with regard to child and family homelessness. I do not know what else to say at Christmas about the disgraceful lack of urgency in providing solutions to child and family homelessness. Having thought about what to say today, I do not want to repeat all that has been put on record before. However, since this is a debate about child and family homelessness, I will share with the Minister and Members of this House the reality of children and families who have no home.

As most people know, I worked in my family hotel in Glendalough all my life until I became a full-time politician, elected by the people less than two years ago. In more than 40 years in the hotel business, through three recessions in the 1970s, 1980s and the most recent crash, I never witnessed until this year what I am about to outline. The Glendalough Hotel is located in a very rural part of Wicklow, 50 km from Dublin city, which all are aware is the epicentre of the child and family homelessness crisis. On several occasions this year, my hotel has accommodated families with children who have been sent by Dublin local authorities because they have no homes available in one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe.

These families arrive in the late afternoon and early evening after picking up their children from their Dublin primary schools. They have made a journey of over an hour by car after spending the morning ringing hotel after hotel seeking a booking. Eventually, having no choice but to pick my hotel some 50 km from their home city, the family, that is, mother and father and two primary schoolgoing children, arrive tired and anxious, a little embarrassed about arriving not as tourists but economic refugees. The team at the hotel makes every effort to welcome these guests while at the same time realising that this is not why they pay their taxes. These families should not be forced to endure this. Both the family and staff make every effort to pretend that this situation is normal so that it does not cause any further stress. When food has been made available, the Irish family is allocated a room and the parents try to get their children settled and hopefully able to do some normal activities such as homework, showering and watching television, all in a hotel room, before putting them to bed. The next morning, these families have no choice but to get up very early in the morning since their parents must get their children ready for school in their little uniforms for Dublin city schools, and make that long journey back to our nation's capital for school and work. One of the parents then makes contact with Dublin local authorities once again to see if any accommodation can be made available. The parent is then told again that no housing is available but there is a list of suitable hotels to ring. The parents then begin the long process of ringing Dublin hotels, then hotels farther afield until, once again, they reluctantly book into our hotel and begin to arrange transport.

I have seen this happen to my fellow citizens and families with young children day in and day out through 2017. Our hotel has accommodated families for up to three to five days in a row. Each day, the same process is undergone and there is the same humiliation and struggle. I do not know what else I can say about this experience. It makes all of us at the hotel ashamed that this is the Ireland we live in. Glendalough is a place of inspiration, tranquility and a reminder of the historic achievements of Ireland's ancient past. Sadly, it is now about part of our story of modern Ireland's shameful present. I am pleased that the Minister did not mention the word "normal" today or that it is below EU average, but that he mentioned the word "face-on". What we must face is that, even since the Minister took office in June, the number of homeless people, including children, has increased. Despite the Minister's statement that the use of hotels has decreased since March, the number of hotels being used for homeless families increased in June, July, August, September and October and those are the Minister's figures.

Working with Deputies Cowen and Rabbitte, we in Fianna Fáil have proposed several solutions. We have allowed the Government to implement solutions but there are still families without homes, forced to endure this disgraceful treatment that makes me and indeed every Irish citizen deeply ashamed.

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