Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When Fine Gael entered Government in 2011, we had 641 children living in emergency accommodation. After 15 years of Fine Gael in government, propped up by Fianna Fáil for most of the time, we now have over 5,000 children homeless. That is a disgrace. It is not an accident. It is a direct result of the Government's bad policies. One example of that is cutting the funding for the tenant in situ scheme. In 2024, the scheme in Dublin City Council had €115 million in funding. Last year, guess what was is? Last year, it was cut to €38 million. This scheme was an incredibly important one because it worked. It was a vital homeless prevention measure. It kept families in their homes. I urge the Minister of State to increase funding for this scheme at the very least back to 2024 levels.

The situation on the ground is desperate. Only last week my office was speaking to a woman who was recently made homeless with a young child. She rang up Parkgate Street and was told no emergency accommodation was available in Dublin. Her only option was to go to County Meath. It was totally impractical. This woman did not drive. How was she supposed to get her child to school? On top of the trauma and the real upset of the loss of a secure home, this child's education is going to be seriously impacted.

We have people in my constituency stuck on the council housing list for ten, 12, 15 and more years. We have so-called affordable housing where a three-bedroom house is over €.0.5 million. On what planet is that affordable? This is a disaster of Fianna Fáil's and Fine Gael's making. We need to see huge investment in social and affordable homes and we need to restore the tenant in situ scheme back to its proper funding.

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