Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is one and a half years since the Minister ended the Covid-19 eviction ban. Since then, homelessness levels have increased almost every single month. We all take having a roof over our heads for granted, but imagine waking up tomorrow to find out that you were going to be made homeless? That has been the reality for 78 families so far this year in Kildare who are tenants in receipt of HAP. I have spoken to many of them. They come into the office in shock wondering how they can keep their family home, keep their kids in school, and get to work. There is a crisis in homeless accommodation, so much so that families have been sent from Kildare to Roscommon for emergency accommodation.

That is 170 km, a two-and-a-half-hour drive and far from schools, support networks and places of employment. It is a scandal.

There are almost 11,000 adults and children in Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage-funded emergency accommodation. This includes 1,483 families with 3,220 children. The Government might say they have a roof over their heads but their childhood is being stolen from them. Can the Minister of State imagine trying to prepare food for a family while helping with homework and dealing with day-to-day family issues? It is hard enough in a three-bed semi-detached house. Imagine what it is like in homeless accommodation.

Families in direct provision are also being deprived of their dignity. They are human beings the same as me and the Minister of State, and we need to treat them with respect and allow them to play their full part in society. I help people in emergency accommodation daily. It is clear the stress of such an existence - and all it is for them is an existence - is having a huge effect on their mental health. They all say homelessness was something that happened to other people until it happened to them. We can and must do better. A home is not a product to be bought and sold for profit but a place of safety, security and privacy. People are not just losing that home. Homes are being taken from families by vulture funds and greedy institutional landlords.

I send my solidarity to the more than 100 residents living in an apartment complex in Dublin who face possible homelessness. The tenants of Tathony House, a 35-apartment block in Kilmainham, received eviction notices last Wednesday. The Government needs to step in and support the residents. The eviction ban worked during Covid but only delayed the problem. As soon as the ban ended, the floodgates opened. Unfortunately, the Government did not take action. It did not use the breathing space to build homes or introduce a credible plan to address this crisis. The Government transfers almost €2.5 million per day in taxpayers' money to private landlords to meet social housing need. It is doing more harm than good and needs to step aside so this crisis can be addressed once and for all.

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