Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Housing Commission's report. The commission commenced its work in January 2023 and published its report in May 2024. It has taken this long for the Government, under pressure, to put it on the clár oibre agus díospóireacht a bheith againn faoin tuarascáil thábhachtach sin. The commission had 14 members, five sub-committees and six working groups. It held 200 meetings and made 83 recommendations. I do not think I could disagree with any of its recommendations. It held a public consultation that attracted 897 responses which told those of us in opposition what we already new, namely that there is a serious housing crisis. The commission did not put a tooth in it.

Many issues jump out at me. I have read the whole report. Ireland has one of the highest levels of public expenditure and some of the poorest outcomes. The other interesting thing the Commission did, besides making its 83 recommendations, was refer to: "the negative impacts of the housing crisis on overall quality of life in Ireland; 74% of respondents indicated that their housing situation had negatively affected their quality of life." We all know that, but it is there in black and white in the report for the Government to read. The report also states: "Account must be taken in housing policy of the full economic and social costs associated with not meeting Ireland's housing requirements."

The report refers to the need for data. It talks about the need for a range of housing types and about the need to address the deficit. It recognises the complete failure of the policies of successive Governments up to now. The commission stated that we need a radical reset and a policy change, and the Government has waited until today to put it on in an afternoon's discussion. I have not heard if the Government will have a policy change and recognise that he housing crisis is a direct consequence of policy, not the other way around.

The task force in Galway, which has been sitting since 2018, has a new chairperson. He has recorded his frustration. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will remember the task force, and now we have them here. The chairperson has outlined his utter frustration at the failure, notwithstanding people's best efforts, to deal with resourcing and many other issues, including an inability to meet targets. This task force was set up in 2018 because of the crisis, and yet it is trundling on. All that has changed is that there is a new chairperson and new personnel. There is no end report to tell us the analysis, although the task force is beginning its work in that regard now.

What has happened in Galway in the context of housing and why is the emergency accommodation there is always at full capacity? There is no place for homeless people to go. This report tells us that the figures relating to homelessness are not the actual figures. The Simon Communities wrote to us all today and outlined the figures. As of the end of December, 14,864 persons, including 4,500 children, were living in emergency accommodation. That is an increase of almost 300% in ten years and it is a direct consequence of the Government parties' policies, and they refuse to change those policies. I have repeatedly stated that what the Government has done amounts to a jigsaw of pieces, with no overall vision and no recognition that a house is a home. In a report they compiled, the Simon Communities state that we need to enshrine the right to housing in the Constitution. The Minister has conveniently ignored that.

I hope that today people will start to recognise that the policies the Government parties have pursued were directly responsible for creating the housing crisis, turning homes into commodities and leaving people with no security of tenure and obliged to ask every day what is going to happen tomorrow. I am facing tomorrow. When I go to my office, I am faced with more and more notices to quit and people appealing to all TDs in relation to those notices.

I have ten seconds left. I ask that this go down for further debate. I know it is continuing into next week but we need a debate. Will the recommendations be implemented?

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