Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

5 o’clock

In spite of measures such as the rent supplement and rental accommodation schemes, the system is still haemorrhaging people into homelessness. I have been dealing with such persons all week in my constituency, as have most Deputies in their constituencies. Although the Minister has stated we are making progress, the figures for homelessness remain high, which is very hard to believe in view of the stated amount of resources that have been put invested. Serious weather warnings are in place and there is a possibility that families, children and individuals may be left to sleep outdoors. We need to warn such people. I hope the Government has put out a very serious warning to get them into safe places and make available the maximum possible amount of accommodation, wherever it may be found. That is necessary because, if the weather forecast is correct, this is urgent and more lives could be lost. A huge number of homeless persons have died on the streets in recent years and months, which is a tragedy for the country.

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