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

The answer the Minister of State has given exemplifies the difficulties with the Government's approach to planning. There is a serious element of passing the buck between central government and local authorities. We have seen it in the tenant in situscheme, in Government proposals around the first refusal scheme and in the lack of planning and co-ordination between central government and local authorities following the lifting of the temporary no-fault eviction ban.

We in the Opposition have put forward clear proposals to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department to ensure there would be a package of co-ordinated measures that local authorities could adopt consistently across the country to support families and households facing eviction or on the homelessness list.

Last week we heard from Focus Ireland about the enormous difficulties for children in homelessness; we heard from Alone and Threshold about the enormous issues facing older people. There are 175 people aged over 65 among the 12,000 in emergency accommodation. We know from individual cases we are all dealing with, like Micheline Walsh, how difficult it is to access alternative accommodation. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure a more co-ordinated approach across local authorities.

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