Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This morning there were reports of families sleeping in Garda stations. I understand in April and May there was a dramatic increase in the number of families unable to secure emergency accommodation. These families are then referred to Garda stations for child protection reasons. We can all agree it is a completely unacceptable situation. It is another example of the failure of the Minister with responsibility for housing to get to grips with the problem. Will the Minister of State tell us how many referrals to Garda stations happened in the months of March, April and May of this year? Will he tell us what the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is doing to get to grips with the issue? Will he assure us the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Justice and Equality will come up with a co-ordinated approach to deal with this problem?

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