Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this Bill before the House and for putting the focus on homelessness. The Bill seeks to provide a legal definition of "persons at risk of homelessness", as has been set out. I will not repeat what has been said. I support the Bill notwithstanding the deficits in it. It sets out to provide a definition, to put the focus on homelessness and to ensure that supports will be given.

I also welcome the fact that the Minister has said the collection of data has much improved and that he stands over the figures. I note that he did not refer to the 2019 report commissioned by the European Commission which spoke of "statistical obfuscation if not 'corruption'" in respect of official departmental monthly homeless figures in Ireland. If that has changed, I welcome that with open arms, but I did not hear the Minister refer to an updated report. Of course, we know that so many people are not included in the homeless figures. The figure of 700 has been used for asylum seekers, or people who have received their status. We know from the recent Day report that the figure is 1,000, and they cannot move out of direct provision. This is not to mention people living in domestic violence refuges or rough sleepers who are not included in the figures at all. I welcome the fact that the figure has gone down from 10,500 - one could not but welcome that - but the figures as at 25 October showed 8,737 people of all ages. Of those, 2,642 were children. Almost one third of people in emergency accommodation are children. Time prevents me from going into this in more depth.

The main point I wish to make is that I imagine we will be talking about homelessness again next year and the year after. Why? It is because homelessness is a symptom of a dysfunctional housing market and housing policy. It is absolutely dysfunctional, and I do not think the Minister of State would disagree with me if we were to have a private conversation. It is utterly dysfunctional, and it is dysfunctional because of Government policy. I am sick and tired of being told I am trying to score political points on this. I will use Galway as an example. Through the crisis, construction stopped in Galway. No public house was constructed from 2009 onwards. That is the first policy. As for the second policy, Fine Gael and the Labour Party introduced the HAP, not as a temporary measure but as a permanent way of sorting out the housing crisis, leading to rent inflation and a massive crisis. The figures for Galway are stark. We have more than 3,000 households on the waiting list. They go back 15 and 16 years. I have made representations on their behalf and raised this in the Dáil. People's cases go to the manager and then they go back down. The manager answers and the case goes back up. In desperation I went to the Minister in the case of one person. We still have not housed that person. In 15 years we were never once offered a house.

The figures speak for themselves. At some stage some intelligence has to be brought to bear on this and we must agree that this is the wrong policy. We are inflating the prices in the market. We are actually causing homelessness because we are not looking at the policy. Any sustainable policy must have the Government i lár an aonaigh, in the middle of the debate and in the middle of provision of public housing on public land. There is no other way. We have to stop using the term "social housing", stop the distinction, provide public housing on public land and give people choices. Without that, we will be standing here, to my shame, next year and the year after talking about homelessness. When I go to my hotel tonight I will see people on the street. I do not know what that is doing to me, not to mention those on the street, as a human being who walks by and tolerates it, knowing well that it is a symptom of a seriously ill housing policy. Despite the briathra milse, the sweet words, housing policy has not changed.

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