Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sam is not alone. There are other photographs of children who are homeless eating their dinner on the steps of the GPO, the same place where the leaders whose busts are displayed around this Chamber came together and proclaimed an Irish republic and that Ireland would cherish all of the children of the nation equally. The Government has let down those leaders and, more important, it has let down our children. The Tánaiste once again rhymed off statistics, but he failed to mention that child homelessness continues to grow. Included in those statistics are children like Sam who are forced into these situations.

The Government has blocked the solutions that could be delivered and would result in serious changes in society. It blocked the Focus Ireland amendment that would have prevented families and children like Sam becoming homeless in the first instance. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil also recently voted against the right to housing being enshrined in the Constitution. Many families are forced into homelessness because of escalating rents. Again, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have blocked Sinn Féin proposal for a rent freeze. These are real solutions. This Government has no answers. The budget announced last week provides for a €20 million increase in funding for homelessness services, which is an acceptance that the crisis will worsen. It is not a policy or a solution. The Government needs to take on board the proposals we and others, such as Focus Ireland, have been putting forward.

What does the Government propose to do in the here and now for Sam? What does it propose to do for the other children like Sam also eating their dinner outside the GPO? What does it propose to do for the children being given sleeping bags instead of a home or emergency accommodation because neither is available? These are the questions that the nation is asking having become aware of this terrible situation where children are forced to eat their dinner from cardboard on the ground. This is not acceptable. As a nation we want to reach out and provide comfort. This Government needs to implement policies and take action to ensure this never happens again.

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