Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No, it is not.

It is what the Minister is doing. He is trying to delete facts and the reality of the number of homeless people from this motion. That is exactly what he is doing. Should homeless people not be properly visible? Should we not be talking about how to eradicate homelessness? Should the Minister not be saying how he is going to decrease the number of people who are homeless rather than trying to delete references to the number of homeless people and how much that number has grown since he took over as Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage from the motion? That is a legitimate question and a legitimate point to make.

During Leaders' Questions earlier today, the Taoiseach was almost seeking to shift responsibility for being homeless onto homeless people in the answers he gave. He sought to blame people who are homeless for being homeless. One of the most powerful people in this country was trying to make people who have the misfortune of being homeless and who are going through all of that trauma and stress feel that they are somehow responsible for the housing disaster they are suffering from. It shows a complete lack of an idea of what homeless people go through. In his comments, he was almost making out that people who are in emergency accommodation should be grateful to this Government for being provided with that accommodation. He seemed to have no concept of the reality of people who are homeless and in emergency accommodation.

In our constituencies, we all deal with people who tell us that they have rung services because they know they are going to be evicted in two months' time or six weeks' time and need emergency accommodation. They are told that there is nothing the service can do now and that they should come back when they are evicted. They then ring up when they are evicted and some have been asked whether they have a car they could sleep in. What sort of a way is that to treat people who become homeless? If people get into emergency accommodation, they can be assaulted or robbed. They can be without a secure locker to lock away their small number of personal possessions and they can be in rooms without windows. While this is not necessarily reflected across the board, some have reported being robbed and assaulted by staff in emergency accommodation. In questions to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I have raised, a number of times, conditions in emergency accommodation for homeless people and the fact that we do not have proper regulated standards that are applied across the board and on the same basis to private providers as to the not-for-profit sector. That issue has not been properly addressed and I have raised it over a number of years.

It is worth noting that it is not only Opposition Deputies who have raised issues with the tenant in situscheme and how it is being operated. There are Deputies in this House who vote with the Government who have raised issues with inconsistencies and anomalies in the scheme. To give just one example, while I appreciate that it takes time for acquisitions to go through, according to the last figures I got from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, only three acquisitions had been completed. The need for housing in Dún Laoghaire is very significant and a great many people are getting evicted. There are a few more acquisitions in process but we are talking about a small handful. That does not compare well to some of the other local authorities. There are other local authorities that are doing better. The issue that people have been consistently raising is that the scheme is not being applied consistently and that some local authorities are raising issues as to why they cannot progress the tenant in situscheme that others are not. That is a very real issue and I implore the Minister to listen in that regard. It needs to be sorted because it is a good scheme that could make a world of difference. There should be no reason for people in one local authority area to be treated totally differently from people in others.

I will read the words of a number of renters affected by the lifting of the eviction ban who are worried about becoming homeless and being evicted. I want to put them front and centre in this debate. Mary from Tipperary says that she is rented accommodation awaiting a council house and that lifting the eviction ban would leave her sleeping on the street. She is 53 years old and says that all she has is her rented home.

Evelina from Dublin asks how this can be happening. She is part of a working couple who work full-time and get no help from the State. They feel hopeless because they cannot afford anything in Dublin. Their daughter is terrified that she will have to quit school and sports clubs and move far away from the place she calls home. Evelina says that the Government says it is right and necessary to put them on the street.

Shelley from Cork says that her rented home is being sold for a second time in two years, that she cannot afford to buy and that her rent has more than doubled since she was in her previous home. She has no doubt that it will go way up again when she cannot find somewhere else and says she is very worried.

Sharon from Meath says that her family is entering their 12th year in rented accommodation and that the landlord has sold his property to another landlord. This new owner purchased her home without even looking at them and sent a text saying that he wants the whole family out. She notes that not a single euro was ever spent on the property and that her family has always maintained it themselves. Her son, her grandson and her family have always called the place home.

Radia from Dublin says that she has had housing-related anxiety ever since she moved to Ireland eight years ago. She ran away from an abusive family to try to start a new life here. She has been in steady full-time work ever since she moved here but she has a minimum-wage job and therefore has no hope of securing a home.

Karina from Wicklow says that she has been renting for 11 years and that her apartment is in show house condition. She says that her landlord now wants to let a family member move in but that we all know this is only a ruse to get more money. She will have to move back in with her mother in her mid-30s.

Aoife from Dublin says that she is the mother of two young kids and that they live in a one-bedroom basement apartment. Her landlord is evicting them at the end of the month. They have nowhere to go and she is so worried that she cannot sleep. She says she feels sick thinking about it.

Mary from Clare says that she is paying high rent and that this is adding to her financial worries. She has no security of tenure and is always fearful of being evicted again. She says that it is impossible to provide stability to a child and that there is absolutely nowhere else available in her area.

Fleur from Carlow says that she is 33 and married but has had to move back in with her parents because there is nothing available on the market to rent. She says that anything that is there is too expensive and that there is no hope of her ever affording to buy a house if she did move out.

Eoin from Limerick says that he will be evicted at the end of the month because the landlord wants to renovate. He has searched onDaft and asked everyone he knows but cannot find anything. He says his only option is to stay on a friend's couch. He has a full-time job and says that this has made him really depressed.

This is the reality facing people.

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