Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Just to be very clear, what we did on Mount Street had a very positive impact. A total of 290 more people got accommodation and access to sanitation and we managed to avert a public health near-emergency. I am very pleased with that multi-agency response. I continue to believe it was the right action to take.

I became Taoiseach four weeks ago. I took charge of this situation. There had been, in my view, a tacit acceptance by many State agencies that the situation on Mount Street could just continue and was just a new norm. That was not right. I thought there was a consensus in this House. Good action was taken by good government in terms of the work of agencies, and I welcome that.

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