Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is all very interesting, but I already knew the information on approved housing bodies and credit unions and it was not the question I asked. It was what the Minister was actually doing. Now that approval has been given by the Central Bank, will the Minister of State and the Department bring all of the players around the table to ensure, in as speedy a fashion as possible, that the funds into which the credit unions need to put their money and the funds the approved housing bodies need to draw down can be established? Can the Minister of State give us any indication of the timeline involved? Will it be up and running this year, next year or the year after? According to the figures, the incidence of adult homelessness is up by 27% in the past 12 months; the incidence of child homelessness is up by 36% and the incidence of family homelessness it is up by 29%. It seems that whoever wrote the Minister's press release cannot even count, as they suggested there had been a 16% increase. There is no urgency on the part of the Government. There is €500 million that could be spent, in addition to the Government's financial commitments, but all the Minister of State is telling us is what we already know from other bodies, rather than what he and his Department are doing. Will he, please, inject some urgency in order that we do not have to sit here for another year, with another 40% increase in the incidence of homelessness.

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