Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Fitzpatrick raises two very important issues. The first of these is this family and their circumstances. It is so important that we find them a home as quickly as possible. As a Government and as taxpayers, we do not want to see anybody in emergency accommodation. It is not a place to raise a family and it is not a place in which to be. It does not provide value for taxpayers' money either. For everyone in the Dáil, and certainly for everybody in government, the priority is to get people out of emergency accommodation and into permanent accommodation.

Deputy Fitzpatrick also points out that from a taxpayer's point of view, we must use our money better. There is a cheaper solution available to give these people a better home and I am determined that we make that happen. What Deputy Fitzpatrick is asking is that we use common sense. I have no doubt we can do that. Working with Ms Margaret Geraghty and all her team in the Fingal local authority and with Mr. Joe McGuinness and his team in the housing section of the Louth County Council, including Mr. Denis McArdle, we will find a solution to this. I have no doubt about that and my Department officials believe we can do that as well.

It is about trying to find people a housing solution and find them a home. Certainly there is a lot of pressure in the Dublin area and in Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow but the pressure extends even further. I refer to County Cavan, represented by Deputy Brendan Smith, who is in the Chamber. There are housing difficulties in many parts of the country. Thankfully, after a year and a half of Rebuilding Ireland, we are beginning to make the progress we need.

Taxpayers' money is being spent. This year will see almost €2 billion of taxpayers' money spent on housing solutions. This spend includes the local authorities, all the non-governmental organisations, NGOs, that benefit from taxpayers' money and our approved housing bodies. Everybody is coming to the table to provide solutions. We need to do that as quickly as possibly and in a common-sense way. That will involve inter-agency work. It means working at local authority level and that is certainly something we will do.

The Minister and I, along with all the officials in our Department, are determined to be solution-focused and to find a home for as many people as we possibly can. While there is no doubt that the number of homeless is still far too high, last year homes were found for more than 4,000 people. This year we will go way beyond that. As I said, emergency accommodation or a hotel is not a place for a family.

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