Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

For most of us, this is a time of year when we are always thinking about children. It is unconscionable that 4,000 children who are facing into Christmas and waiting for Santy to arrive are in homeless emergency accommodation. The real political and social emergency in this Chamber the fact that we need emergency accommodation for our children. These children are wondering if Santy will be able to find them. Their parents are giving them reasons - anything from GPS, to magic, and to star maps - to reassure them that he will arrive, and he will.

We had a close call in north Kildare. I am relieved to be able to say that my office intervened. Kildare County Council was able to move very quickly and is now buying the house under the tenant in situscheme. This is life-changing for the family in question. Santy will come to those four children. I commend Kildare County Council on how efficient it is. I know from speaking to other comrades in my party that not every local authority is acting as well as that.

My urgent concern today is for an elderly couple. This is a gentleman of 80 years of age and his wife is 79 and they are facing homelessness in the new year. They were in my office in Naas yesterday. He had a gentleman's agreement with the landlord that he could stay in the property for life. However, the landlord has died and a legal notice was served on the couple a few weeks ago. A legal notice is now on its way from the solicitor. This gentleman has not been able to tell his wife because she suffers from severe depression and he is afraid of what she might do. It is very much something to have a lovely gentleman standing in your office and saying that he is worried about what his wife might do and facing into Christmas with an eviction notice over their heads. He states that he is 80 and that he cannot tell his wife that they could be evicted because he is afraid of what she might do. We desperately need an eviction ban for these people.

It is noticeable as well that the Minister with responsibility for homelessness has left the Chamber so quickly. He has no respect and does not care less.

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