Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State should take no comfort from the fact that the Minister won the vote on a motion of no-confidence on Tuesday night. The vast majority do not have confidence in this Government and we know why it won the vote. The figures released a couple of days ago once again revealed an increase in the people who are housed in bed and breakfast accommodation, hubs and hostels but they do not take into account the number of people sleeping on our streets or involuntarily sharing, that is, couch-surfing. The Minister of State said today that there is no limit, that anyone on the streets can go into their respective local authority and get bed and breakfast accommodation. That is not the case because there are budgets set for every local authority. The Department is breathing down their necks telling them to try to keep below their budgets. That is a fact. I help people day in, day out, referring them to Westmeath or Longford county councils, which are being told by the Department that they are restricted in what they can spend. Either they are telling lies or the Minister of State is telling lies here in the Dáil this evening.

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