Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Behind the statistics there are people and behind the people are children. The report of the Ombudsman for Children, published today, gives a glimpse of what life is like for children in hubs. A hub is an unnatural environment for children. Their environment should be a home setting, where they can close the door after them and go to school. When the abnormal becomes normal we have a serious problem. This constitutes the institutionalisation of children in the 21st century. In the past there were mother and baby homes, now there are hubs, bed and breakfast accommodation, and hotels where children live. The report states that 800 children live in hubs in Dublin alone and 900 nationally. That does not include over 3,000 children living in emergency accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation, hotels, and hostels around the State, which is absolutely shameful. We have debated this so much that I feel I am hitting my head against a wall because the Government does not seem to be acting.

At the moment, there are 1,800 children in direct provision, a very unnatural environment for them and their families. That has to be a shameful stain on our society. Other Deputies have mentioned young people coming out of care and trying to find accommodation, which is probably next to impossible. There is a dearth of accommodation, particularly one bedroom apartments around the State.

If a person is coming out of care, there a danger that he or she will become homeless or, even worse, enter the criminal justice system because there is no place for him or her to sleep at night and to call his or her own. It is a pretty awful position for that cohort of society.

I want to get to the crux of this matter. As I and other Deputies have asked, why is the State in a position where 10,000 people are in emergency accommodation and why have "social" and "housing" become dirty words? It was the policy of Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party and Fine Gael over the past 15 years. They have dirtied the words "public housing".

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