Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We all agree that the number of families in emergency accommodation is far too high. Nobody - not the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, the Department or me - wants that. No one wants to see people living in emergency accommodation, whether it is a hotel, bed and breakfast or family hub. Those are not places to be. However, if we failed to engage with the private sector in some form, there would be thousands more in emergency accommodation, which none of us wants. We are committed to social housing and have a greater vision in that regard than any other party here. Most people call for just 10,000 houses but we are going beyond that to 12,000 social houses a year, and rightly so given that we are behind where it should be.

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