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

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach as a ról nua. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire agus leis an Aire Stáit as na róil atá acu freisin.

As has been outlined by my colleague Teachta Eoin Ó Broin, the Housing Commission report is such an important piece of work that it needs to be taken very seriously by the Government. We all recognise that the housing crisis is the single biggest issue facing the Government. However, that recognition is not being met by action on the part of the Government. In fact, the Opposition - the real opposition – had to drag it kicking and screaming to have this debate at all. We are not seeing the Government move with the urgency that is required to address the monumental task of taking 15,000 people out of homelessness, almost 5,000 of whom are children. The numbers are growing and this is to our shame. More and more families - parents and children – are being forced into emergency accommodation and homelessness every day. This is hardly surprising in light of the extortionate prices for both housing and rental accommodation. In my constituency of Kildare North, a three-bed semi-detached house now costs more than €500,000. According to the RTB, County Kildare ranks as the third most expensive for renters. In north Kildare, one would be lucky to get a three-bedroom house for less than €3,000 a month.

The Taoiseach's threat of ending the rent pressure zone system hangs over many. People worry about what they will do if their rent is drastically increased. The commission itself says we have one of the highest levels of public expenditure on housing, yet this is the outcome.

The tenant in situscheme is another initiative supported by the Housing Commission in its report. It is a lifeline to so many people who face eviction when a landlord decides to sell, often leaving them with nowhere to go. I am disgusted that this scheme has been suspended in Kildare for people facing eviction. The importance of the tenant in situscheme cannot be stressed enough for people facing homelessness.

One does not need to read the Housing Commission report to know that this Government does not care about people facing homelessness. Anyone watching the "Upfront with Katie Hannon" programme on Monday night who saw Chloe, who lives in a homeless hub, knows that the Government does not care. Chloe featured in a housing debate during the general election at which the Minister was present in the studio. On that night in November she told us that her son has a congenital heart condition and is having open heart surgery next month, in March. She said she was anxious about bringing him back from the hospital into the hub. The Minister's predecessor was present in the studio. One would think he would have got straight on to Dublin City Council to say it should get that sorted. However, he did not. He did not have the wit or the care to do that. What that says to me is that this Government simply does not care. What is worse is that it does not care that everybody knows that it does not care. This is a dystopian and callous State to be living in.

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