Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome tonight's debate. It is good to have a debate on such an important issue. The people are fed up with reports and Government spin. The spin doctors always put out the message that the Minister is dealing with the crisis. The truth is that he is not. All he has to do is take a very short walk this evening and he will see the very sad sight of people queuing up for necessary services. These people do not have the simplest thing in the world; a secure place they can call their home, their bed, their corner of the world. People do not have that. I compliment our own local authority, Kerry County Council, and the people working in our housing section. I compliment the people working in the homeless unit in Kerry County Council. However, I truly believe we should not need a homeless unit. We should not have homeless people. We should be doing more to cater for those people. There are thousands of units throughout this country that are not part of the available housing stock but should be. Government policies are keeping them out of it. There is a lack of Government will to take on this problem in a workmanlike way. I have put ways to help to tackle this crisis on the record of the Dáil over the years. Unfortunately the Minister did not listen, he is not listening now and it looks like he will not listen. I welcome this debate and I am grateful for having it, because it is good for democracy to thrash this out tonight.

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