Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

As the Minister knows, homelessness is at the highest level since modern records began. Over 16,000 people, including 5,000 children are officially categorised as homeless and in emergency accommodation funded by the Department. Astonishingly, neither the Minister for Finance nor the Minister for public expenditure and reform even referenced homelessness yesterday. The budget book simply references an increase for emergency accommodation, hardly a sign of success. Will the Minister outline the actions he intends to take in the coming weeks and months to start to get a grip on this crisis so that we see the numbers of adults and in particular children in emergency accommodation fall?

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