Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

So I believe, but I did not apologise on behalf of the Minister. I was there with people who come to my clinic and who represent the human evidence of the failure of the Government's policies. I will offer some examples of some of the people who were there. Two young women who are pregnant were there. They are homeless. They are being told by the council that they have to go to Brú Aimsir Hostel, where there are many active drug users. They have letters from social workers saying the suggestion is completely unsuitable for pregnant women. The latest response we have received is that when they are seven months pregnant, perhaps the council will be able to get them out. Most pregnancies fail in the first few months. These young pregnant vulnerable women are being put into a dangerous situation for people in their condition. This is the sort of carry-on that is going on.

I received an answer to a parliamentary question on housing assistant payment tenancies last year. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government claimed in the answer that the figure was 17,000. I asked how many HAP tenancies failed last year. The figure was 2,250. Some 15% of the Government's HAPs last year failed, and they were the low-hanging fruit in the support scheme. A total of two thirds of the Government plan for 2021 is dependent on these tenancies, which are already failing in spectacular numbers. Does the Government not believe it is time to revisit the entire plan?

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