Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

However, they are going to be disadvantaged if the Government does not fund them. Bearing in mind the hands-off approach that the Government takes to these agencies, we should remember that although it caused the homelessness crisis with its policies, it has asked people to come in to shore it up. Some of the agencies are funded only by the State, and if they do not have additional funding – I have checked in the budget and I do not see that there is any – it will simply mean they will have to try to find it from within their existing budgets, which means either pay cuts or cutting back on services. Neither of those options is viable.

I would like to hear from the Minister confirmation that he believes all those funded by the State will be in the desired position. As the Minister said, the contributions from the worker have to be matched by employer contributions. They have no capacity to raise money on their own. Therefore, is the State going to fund it, and can the Minister confirm that this morning?

See this speech in context