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

The tenants in situ circular the Department issued is restricting the numbers, capping the ability of local authorities to acquire more properties, particularly in large urban areas, and making it more difficult for approved housing bodies to purchase properties that are vacant to meet the needs of one- and four-bed households, whose members spend longer in emergency accommodation. The Minister is correct that exits were marginally up last year by comparison with the year before, but they have been down overall in the past three or four years. They are down because exits to the private rental sector have collapsed and only a small increase in direct social housing allocations has been provided. The time people are spending in emergency accommodation is getting longer, not shorter. Despite all the Minister's talk, the problem is getting worse. From what the Minister has said, I gather there will be no new initiatives or measures to bring the numbers down. I ask for the third time whether I am wrong. Is the Minister going to do anything different in the months ahead to start tackling this problem?

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