Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Taoiseach. I think he is right. Of course homelessness is a stain on our society. It is shameful that we have nearly 12,000 people in homelessness at a time when the country is running very significant budget surpluses, with over €5 billion of a surplus last year. I disagree with him, however, on the eviction ban. We have heard from all of those working with people who are homeless that the homelessness figures would have been much worse had it not been for the existence of the temporary ban. It should not have been lifted when it was, in the absence of measures to support families and households facing homelessness.

We in the Labour Party have supported Government measures when they have been effective to prevent homelessness and to increase housing stock - of course we have - but the reality is that the Taoiseach's Government has done too little and has failed the families who are now in homelessness. It is also failing the workers. The month of May is a time to celebrate workers and workers' rights. The housing crisis is a workers’ rights issue, as we are hearing from the nurses' union today. We have recruitment and retention challenges across healthcare, construction, hospitality and all other sectors. The housing crisis is a major contributor to that.

Will the Government accept the Labour Party's constructive proposals? I refer, for example, to the National Minimum Wage (Inclusion of Apprentices) Bill 2023, which will be debated tonight in the Seanad. This Bill, which has been introduced by our Seanad Whip, Senator Marie Sherlock, would provide apprentices with higher levels of pay and attract more people to work in construction, thereby helping us to deliver more housing, which is a measure the Taoiseach and his Government want to do.

Here is a constructive proposal from us; a simple measure that could be adopted and accepted by the Government to help alleviate the housing crisis.

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