Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Not a day goes by that I am not dealing with people in insecure accommodation in my offices in Swords and Balbriggan. It is without doubt the number one issue we deal with. It is no surprise the Government representatives in my area are largely absent when their constituents are looking for answers or help.

The situation is desperate for many. The latest family to cross the door of my office live in Balbriggan. They have been issued with a notice to quit and are frantic because they have to vacate their home in May. They have nowhere to go. They have two kids in school in Balbriggan. They also work in Balbriggan. There is nothing for them to rent in the town. Even if they could uproot their kids or manage a commute, there is nowhere for them to rent. They are hoping the council will buy their house, and so am I.

The Minister says one thing and does another. Last December, he said:

I have been clear with local authorities and there is no issue whatsoever with funding. That function is now delegated directly to them and we are seeing more homes coming in every day.

However, Fingal County Council told a landlord looking to sell late last year that correspondence from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage stated there was limited scope for acquisitions at the time. It told that landlord that Government policy was to deliver social homes through construction. It is hard to believe the Minister is serious about preventing homelessness. This is an emergency situation and it requires an emergency response. What about those who have a medical need for housing? In Fingal, my constituents wait for up to a year for assessment of their application for medical priority. That was again confirmed in an email from the council in which it stated that, unfortunately, the housing support team is not in a position to indicate when a decision on medical priority will be made. It went on to state the medical priority process can take approximately 12 months. There are people on notices to quit who have a medical priority assessment pending. Extending the ban on evictions is the only way they will be able to stay in their homes. These people are sick and desperate. They are in the middle of an emergency. Extending the ban on evictions is the very least the Minister can do to recognise the trauma that is going to be caused to these families by eviction. Kids will be forced out of their homes and schools. Families will be forced to commute.

Has the Minister ever been evicted? I have been. I am not ashamed to say it is absolutely traumatising to have your home taken from you and to not know where you are going to sleep. It is traumatising. This is an emergency and it requires an emergency response.

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