Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

How is it possible at a time of rising social housing output that homelessness is also rising? The answer is simple. The targets the Government has set in its plan are too low and it is not meeting those targets. The Minister is correct that just over 8,000 new-build social homes were delivered last year, which is 1,000 short of the Government's target. When you look at the total number of new-build social homes the Minister promised to deliver since taking office, the number of homes he has not delivered is 9,527. How many families with children and single people who will be in emergency accommodation tonight would not be in emergency accommodation if he had kept his promise? He cannot do so. He breaks every promise he makes on social and affordable housing. Again, he did not answer the question. The clear question is this: given that homelessness is rising month on month, what will the Minister do for the people in emergency accommodation? Exits are still lower than the number of people going in. How will he ensure the Government not only meets its targets this year, for the first time since he became Minister with responsibility for social housing, but actually increases the targets, not in the autumn, but now to meet need?

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