Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for bringing the Bill to the House and I thank the Minister for accepting it. If we are to turn the tide and end the cruelty of homelessness, we need to address the heart of the problem. We need to reform our housing market so that it is no longer designed to maximise profit for landlords and lead to ever-increasing housing prices. Deeper reforms are needed but for today we need to help people at risk of being pushed into homelessness before it happens. Many do not have the luxury of time.

The Bill seeks to amend the Housing Act 1988 to provide a legal definition of persons at risk of homelessness and to give the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the power to provide people with supports to prevent them from becoming homeless. We need to come together to pass the Bill to keep people in their homes. We have shown that this House can act decisively if there is a political will to do so. I implore all Deputies to put party politics to one side and support the Bill, which will give the Minister greater powers to help everyone across the country fighting tooth and nail to keep a roof over their heads. This is an opportunity to stand up for them and to stand with them. I urge the Minister to take this opportunity.

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