Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Rural Independents for allocating some of their time to me.

Tá 13,000 duine gan dídean sa Stát seo. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil an géarchéim ag éirí i bhfad níos measa ná mar a bhí sé. Homelessness is becoming all too prevalent and, to our shame in this State, it is becoming normalised. Homelessness is not just confined to urban regions. Its prevalence is now very noticeable in many rural towns. In many towns in Laois and Offaly, such as Tullamore, Edenderry and Portlaoise, rent costs up to €1,000 per month. That factor alone is driving families into homelessness every day of the week. Every day of the week, I have upset and disillusioned people in my offices who are in desperate situations seeking accommodation. Many of them are working part time. They have tried their best to make ends meet and they find themselves in this difficult situation.

The local authorities in Laois and Offaly are doing their utmost to deal with the issue of homelessness. I have seen that first hand, but they are hampered in their efforts by insufficient funding from central Government. In Offaly, there are very few centres or hotels providing emergency accommodation for families who find themselves homeless and experiencing the trauma that goes with that. The Simon Community and one local hotel provide such accommodation in Tullamore but it is insufficient to meet the numbers seeking emergency accommodation. However, those services become full very quickly, which leads to a situation where women and children have to travel to a hostel in Mullingar while the men have to travel to County Longford for emergency accommodation. The separation of families and the breakup of the family unit can be traumatic. I am sure the Minister of State will agree with that. It is like something one would hear about Famine times when families were split up and sent to the workhouses. We are seeing echoes of that now yet we are hearing the constant spin about a republic of opportunity and fairness for all in society. That is not the case.

The gap is widening all of the time. It is because this Government has not acted in time. I accept that there have been some small improvements but they are minimal. The Government needs to look at the rural towns. All too often this problem of homelessness is seen as just an urban problem in our big cities. It is not and it is far from it. I would like some action to ensure that there is more emergency accommodation available in County Laois and County Offaly so that people do not have to leave their counties. I know of families who have had to leave their county to go to hostels in Mullingar and who have had to uproot their children who were in schools in Tullamore and surrounding areas. That is so destructive. It is traumatic enough for children to be separated from their fathers or the head in the family, whoever that may be, but it is shameful that we have this situation. We talk about mental health and all that is being done in that area but this situation is adding to that problem of mental health and we are not getting to grips with that either. Rents are increasing month on month in the main towns of the counties I have just mentioned, in Tullamore, Edenderry and Portlaoise.

The solution to this problem of spiralling rents needs to be looked at urgently. The criteria for rent pressure zones must be broadened in order to ensure that towns where there are ongoing problems with rent increases outside of the main cities are catered for and assisted. This would be a lifeline to many tenants in rented accommodation. As has been stated already, HAP is a short term solution. I know of many cases in Offaly and Laois where people have to top up the HAP payment by hundreds of euros. They have no choice, they are in a vulnerable situation and in order to stay in their accommodation they have to fork that out. That is sometimes done by getting loans from family members or worse, borrowing off moneylenders and that is what is happening. As the Minister of State may not know, the midlands region has one of the lowest rates of income in this State. This must surely be taken into consideration in ensuring that our towns in Laois and Offaly are designated as rent pressure zones. I call on the Minister of State to pursue that possibility in light of the ongoing homeless crisis and the shortage of social and affordable housing for families in Laois and Offaly. It must end. We need Government intervention and we need it fast.

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