Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are listening. Nobody is denying the figures or the fact that there are far too many individuals, families and children who are homeless in Ireland. Rebuilding Ireland is a plan to try to respond to that problem, as well as to a whole series of other challenges in the housing market, a market that was fundamentally broken and that we are fixing. It is important to deal with the facts, as well as the emotion. There is a lot of emotion in this debate, understandably so. I have met many families and individuals who are homeless because, as the Deputy said, I was previously the Minister with responsibility for housing. It is important to say that, as a Government, we are committed to increasing the social housing stock by 50,000 by 2021 under Rebuilding Ireland, 50,000 being the figure agreed to by the all-party Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness.

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