Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am at the coalface of this crisis because I am Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. I am responsible for working with local authorities, our partners in the NGO sector and all stakeholders to put in place appropriate supports and solutions for those who need them. This crisis is complex. It stems from a number of issues. The supply crisis stems from the fact that our housing sector exploded in the late 2000s and would have brought down the economy too. The crisis that people are experiencing in their lives is because in some instances there are not enough homes and in some instances landlords, which the Deputy's party continues to attack, are leaving the market. That leads to a notice of termination and housing insecurity for them. There are other crises from family breakdowns. Some families present because of a breakdown in family relations.

This is a complex issue. That is why we work with partner organisations such as the Peter McVerry Trust, Simon Communities Ireland, St. Vincent de Paul and Focus, because they are the experts. We provide funding to them from the taxpayer and work with them, with the local authorities, to put in place relevant supports. I outlined the relevant HAP supports, including the HAP placefinder, payment of the deposit, payment of the rent and HAP uplift. We have a responsibility as a Government to provide housing for everyone and every local authority is responsible for its own placements, including who it is placing into the stock of social housing that is in increasing in its own local authority area. I have met too many children in family hubs and coming out of hotels and I have met their parents and spoken with them about the difficulties we are experiencing. We know a family in a family hub will spend less time there than in a hotel. On average, it is less than six months before we get them into a secure, safe and sustainable home. That is what our policies try to achieve.

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