Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

A number of Deputies have referenced the more than 5,000 children who are now homeless and living in emergency accommodation. That figure is actually much bigger because people are living in overcrowded accommodation, with three generations of families in one home, children growing up in box rooms and so on. I mean it sincerely when I say that it is going to get worse. I know that because people are in my clinic every week who are at risk of becoming homeless, who are hanging on, overstaying or living in cramped accommodation with their families, which can only last for so long. The Minister, as the Minister for housing, has done nothing. If anything, he has actually made things worse. He has stopped the tenant in situ and housing first schemes. He has also stopped downsizing or rightsizing so that three- or four-bedroom houses could come back into use because he has cut the capital budgets. These are facts.

I have one straight question for the Minister, man to man. How many children must become homeless before he finally admits that he and his Government are wrong? I asked his predecessor, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, that question when the figure was at 4,500. We are now at 5,000. How many children? Where is the accountability? Deputy Browne is the Minister for housing and the buck stops with him. Is he going to stand up and take responsibility? Is he going to do that?

We are talking here about child poverty. Sometimes, it is actually hard to see it when children are playing together but I see it in communities right across this country. My previous role was in addiction recovery and well-being and I know that the number one reason for people going into active addiction or ending up in the throes of addiction is childhood trauma. The damage that this Government, as well as previous Governments of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, is doing and has done to the children of this country is untold. In a couple of years, weeks or days, someone from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael will stand up and talk about criminality and what is happening on the streets and about how they are going to crack down. If they looked after children who were in poverty and took them out of that poverty, they would not have to be coming out with this drivel about cracking down. The Government did not support families with children when they needed it.

On Saturday, 4 October, there will be a Raise the Roof protest in Cork. I plead with everyone to come out at 2.30 p.m. to the Grand Parade to send a message to the Government that enough is enough.

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