Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The headlines in our national newspapers six years ago, at the start of January 2017, read, "I'm not crazy - I will end homeless families living in hostels". That was from the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, at that time, when we had the scandal of 7,000 people homeless breaking new records. He told us he would end families living in hostels in six months. Today, we have 11,754 people homeless, many of them in hostels, bed and breakfasts and hotels. More than 1,000 additional children are now homeless, compared to the time when the Minister, Deputy Coveney, made his statement. While the Minister may not be crazy, it is very clear that this Government, just like its predecessor, is deluded. The Government is deluded in the fact it thinks it is turning a corner, time and gain, in the housing crisis, when we see the evidence in every single community throughout the State that this Government is failing spectacularly.

The Minister speaks here about targets, but he does not make the point that he has missed, not only the social and affordable targets this year, but every single year since he took office. He is the Minister for failure in meeting the targets. That is the reality.

See this speech in context