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

Meanwhile, outside the bubble of Government Buildings, more and more people are becoming homeless. We should not be having an argument over the figures, but behind every one of them is a real person, for example, a mother with a child trapped in emergency accommodation or a pensioner who is unsure where he or she will sleep tomorrow. At a time when the economy is growing, the number without a home should be falling. Accurate data are important and massaging the figures is wrong. That is not just my opinion. Louth County Council told councillors that the families who had been removed from its list last month were still homeless. Waterford City and County Council stated the families who had been removed from its list last month were still homeless. Focus Ireland stated the families in its Limerick facility who had been removed from the figures last month were also homeless. Today the most senior housing official in the State agrees with them. Everybody except the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues seems to know that these families are homeless. Is the Tánaiste saying Mr. Brendan Kenny and his council colleagues have got it wrong, that they are lying and, if not, how can he continue to have confidence in a Minister who is clearly failing to do his job?

See this speech in context