Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have sourced more emergency accommodation. I do not have the exact figures or locations but I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide that information for the Deputy. It is important to state that although the number of people in State-provided emergency accommodation is at an all-time high, the number of people we are taking out of homelessness into secure housing is also at an all-time high. The difficulty we have, and it is a big difficulty, is that people are becoming homeless faster than we can find homes for them. We are providing homes for them, however. There is a churn and it is important that we be aware of that. We are very much saying to local authorities that the money is there for them to buy homes if a landlord is selling up. In the case of a social housing tenant or the tenant of an affordable housing body, the option is there for the local authority to purchase that property and keep it in the rental market.

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