Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I take issue with the term "released" from school. Children these days enjoy school and have very good experiences in our schools but they are going out to enjoy the summer holidays. Through many other avenues of government, we will endeavour to give supports to children throughout the summer holidays. More specifically, the issue of homelessness is key. A key strategy is to shorten the time any family experiences emergency accommodation and ensure they can receive social housing. We have built more social houses in the past four years than in the previous 40 years. The increase in building of social housing and the provision of social housing through other mechanisms has increased exponentially. That is a key way of dealing with homelessness. The housing first programme is also key. It was recommended strongly a number of years ago by the homeless agencies.

There are now 1,000 tenancies for homeless people with complex health and social needs, with further significant numbers planned for 2025 and that is a very important intervention. We have no issue with examining the Labour Party's legislation, although is the Deputy suggesting those who are perhaps on the list for eight or nine years? A balance always has to be struck between those on the homeless list vis-à-visthose who have been on the social list for quite considerable lengths of time and have an entitlement as a social house as well. What will be key is increasing the number of social houses we build and doing it consistently over the next decade and more. The building of social houses has already had an impact on the social housing lists in many cities and local authority areas and also on the issue of homelessness itself by reducing the length of time people experience in emergency accommodation.

An eviction ban would actually be regressive in terms of supply. Ultimately we need more supply of homes and housing. The Housing Commission made it clear the Oireachtas's approach to the rental market over the past four years was too interventionist. That is what it more or less said. I am sorry; "reactive" might be the word the commission used. The result was a dampening of supply into the market, thereby exacerbating the situation. We cannot endorse policies that would make the supply situation much worse and by definition make the homelessness issue much worse. That needs to be acknowledged also.

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