Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I note that I did not get a guarantee that people will not be forced to sleep rough. The Minister spoke about mitigation measures, tented accommodation and a roof over the head. Tented accommodation is not a roof over the head, by the way. That is an important point. It is significant that while the Government is talking about putting on the agenda facial recognition technology, water cannon, stronger pepper spray, more riot police and more dogs - in other words more State repression - it is failing to deal with the social crisis in society. It is failing to deal with the issue of asylum seekers that I have raised and is failing to deal with the issue of homelessness that I have raised. What is needed is precisely the opposite. It is not more law and order and more oppression. It is tackling the social crisis, the issue of asylum seekers, the issue of homelessness and the housing crisis in our society.

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