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

Yet, month after month, the number of adults and children, including pensioners, families and single people, in emergency accommodation has increased under the Minister's watch. In May 2021, the low point of homelessness as a result of the emergency measures introduced during the Covid pandemic by the Minister's predecessor, we had 5,843 adults and 2,184 children officially recognised as homeless. In July of this year, that shot up to 10,028 adults and 4,401 children. That is an 80% increase in overall homelessness on the Minister's watch and a dramatic 101% increase – a doubling – of child homelessness.

The Minister listed a series of measures, none of which is clearly reducing the numbers of presentations or lengths of stay in emergency accommodation. He has not given us a single new initiative. The length of time people are staying in emergency accommodation, particularly singles and large families, is growing ever longer. A circular issued by the Minister's Department in July is now restricting access to tenant in situ arrangements and making it more difficult for AHBs to acquire vacant properties for people who are homeless through the capital advance leasing facility.

I ask the Minister again whether he intends to do anything different, new or additional to start getting this crisis under control, a crisis that has spiralled out of control since he became Minister.

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