Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am Fianna Fáil spokesperson on children and youth affairs. I do not have the briefings or the knowledge the Minister has about all the reports, other than what I listen to and what I read in the newspapers. I can, however, speak about the reality of what I am experiencing on the ground and what I hear from parents and families who are trying to live a normal life. They are going through an entire generation without having a place they can call home.

I debated this with the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Coveney, prior to Christmas 2016 and brought up the issue of children who do not have a back garden and who cannot bring other children home to play. In a normal day, children have play dates and hold birthday parties, celebrate other events, put up a Christmas tree or hang cards but many of the 3,826 homeless children do not experience this. The do not have the same opportunities as other children. They do not have a front door or a house they can draw on their colouring book at school, like we all did when we were young.

I never play politics with this issue and I do not criticise, but it is wrong. It is not solely the responsibility of the Minister and a whole-of-government approach is needed. Education has an important part to play in this, particularly the early years sector. When local authority development officers and liaison officers go out, they do not knock on the front doors of school principals to ask if there is enough room for children in the schools. They do not tell principals they are acquiring houses and they are looking forward to integrating children, and they do not ask if the necessary SNAs are in place. I know of a case where an approved housing body secured 11 houses but it did not engage with the secondary school or the national school about SNAs.

I also wish to mention how long it takes county councils to turn houses around. Galway County Council purchased ten houses in Portumna more than six months ago and it still have not managed to get people in the front door. Such delays are preventing children from having a normal childhood. The ten houses to which I refer should be occupied at this moment and children should be having the family experiences they need to have.

When families go before the housing liaison officer, they do not get the support they need in respect of education and health. They are tiring and wilting and they need help and support. They need to feel a little bit more valued than just being a number on a sheet of paper. Children need to feel that when their mother or father presents at a local authority office, they are valued. We had a children's referendum but their voices are not being heard and it is a shame that parents feel their child does not have a value. Parents do everything for their children but 3,826 children are homeless. The hubs are a significant improvement on keeping children in hotel rooms but they are not the solution. It is also unfortunate we have not moved away from using hotel rooms.

My final point is about student accommodation. Last year, 22 students slept homeless at the beginning of their year on Eyre Square in Galway because they could not find accommodation.

Student accommodation needs to be a priority and we need to look at how we can support these young adults. They do not want to put the burden on their parents when they cannot find digs or suitable accommodation. We need to have people within the city council and the county council who can assist those to whom I refer. People in third-level education should not have to sleep rough because they do not want to put pressure on their parents.

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