Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is an utter shame and disgrace that statements on homelessness are becoming so frequent in the Dáil. The fact that the Minister is not here either is also shameful.

Every single time this issue comes before us, the numbers of people, including children and the elderly, who have been failed by this Government and have ended up homeless have risen. The number has risen drastically and it is rising every day.

The facts are there in black and white before us. They spell out clearly what we in Sinn Féin have been calling out for years: that the Minister has been throwing petrol on the fire with his housing policies. The housing policies do not work for ordinary working people trying to buy a home. They do not work for pensioners facing eviction. Let us imagine getting to that age in life and not knowing where we will go next. We need more local housing for older people. People decide who is at the top of the list in communities. We are being told people are not on the list. It does not matter what medical issues they have, as people are dictating who gets the houses. That is wrong. Older people should not have to face eviction.

The housing policies do not work for adults with additional needs who desperately need a safe and secure place to live. Recently, in the audiovisual room, we heard from the Before We Die campaigners who spoke about the hidden homeless. The parents are too old. They are getting to a stage where they cannot possibly look after their loved ones, yet the State says that they must. How are they supposed to do that? Some of these people are in their 80s. It is not possible. The State needs to step up and stop putting the blame on parents.

The housing policies do not work for students being fleeced with sky-high rents. I know colleges that have space to build. We need to get in there. Rents should not be a barrier to people going to college. Parents cannot afford to live in their own homes and they cannot afford to send their children to college purely because they cannot afford to pay the rent. That is not right.

The housing policies only work to line the pockets of the mega-landlords, the vulture funds and the big property developers. Put simply, the Minister is putting private capital and profits ahead of the public good. That has led to ever-increasing homelessness.

Only this week, I was contacted by a couple in their late 50s who face a no-fault eviction from the house they have rented for almost 20 years. They are devastated and left with no idea of where to go. They face a very real prospect of homelessness.

We are a strong, prosperous, highly developed State. How this Government can allow so many people to fall into homelessness is an absolute disgrace. Without a radical reset of housing policy, as recommended by the Housing Commission, this crisis will only get worse. That means the Minister will not meet his target of ending long-term homelessness by 2030.

We have a wealth of expertise and knowledge in this State - experts who could help end this crisis. It is time the Minister started listening to them, and not the lobbyists for big capital. Homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that affects individuals and families in Ireland right now. There are people in Carlow and Kilkenny who are working but cannot afford to rent, if they could even find a house to rent. They cannot get a mortgage because their wages are too low. We need to get back to local county councils building houses, just like the one that I grew up in. Kilkenny would be in a far worse crisis if we did not have the Good Shepherd Centre. It is doing tremendous work but we need more of that.

I am glad the Minister eventually came in. There are older people and children who are homeless. Deputy Boyd Barrett said that all the children wanted for Christmas off Santy was a roof over their head. That is a crying shame. Some of these parents are working yet they cannot afford to rent a house. They have no chance of ever getting a mortgage. That is on the Government.

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