James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. Addressing homelessness and increasing the supply of homes required to do so is my absolute priority. The programme for Government is committed to working towards ending homelessness by 2030. To meet this commitment, Delivering Homes, Building Communities was developed as an integrated housing and homeless plan. The new plan is based on two key pillars: activating the supply of 300,000 more homes and supporting people to have a home of their own. The plan will ensure that the funding and strategies deployed to address housing and homelessness are fully aligned at all times.

Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. The Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to good-quality, affordable and secure homes that suit their needs. The Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, spoke to the actions in the plan that are focused on increasing supply with over €9 billion in capital funding being made available for housing in 2026 alone. In addition, we are progressing significant measures to improve both security of tenure and supply in the rental market through the new rental legislation and the regulation of short-term lets. The new rental legislation will introduce stronger tenant protections by significantly restricting no-fault evictions. New tenancies created for the first time between parties on or after 1 March 2026 and the current provision for tenancies of unlimited duration will be strengthened by the incorporation of tenancies of a minimum duration of six years.

In addition, the regulation of short-term lets will bring back a proportion of the houses and apartments being used for short-term letting purposes to the traditional long-term rental market.

Ownership measures and actions already under way are having an impact. Supported by increased social housing delivery and supports such as HAP, more than 650,000 adults were helped to exit emergency accommodation in the past two years. However, the housing plan very much recognises that delivery alone is not enough. Despite a significant increase in the number of new homes being delivered and the high number of people being supported to exit homelessness, the numbers of households, including families with children, in homeless emergency accommodation has continued to rise. In order to see this number of people experiencing homelessness fall, there has to be an increased availability of homes for households at risk of homelessness not only as an exit pathway but also to prevent people from needing access to emergency accommodation in the first place. Prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority.

There are many prevention initiatives already under way in my Department and across Government. They include the provision of social and affordable housing, the HAP and homeless HAP schemes and our strong tenancy protection legislation. In addition, we support local authorities to provide prevention services through significant funding each year. The level of expenditure on prevention services increased from €15.4 million in 2021 to €24.7 million in 2024, an increase of some €9.3 million, and now accounts for 7% of the total homeless budget. To ensure a fully aligned all-of-government approach under the plan, we are developing a national homelessness prevention framework within which homelessness can be prevented in a structured and planned way, with tailored prevention measures for each potential at-risk cohort. This framework will be in place in 2026.

We are also developing a child and family homelessness action plan, bringing together key stakeholders to drive the continued focus on preventing children and families from entering emergency accommodation and providing enhanced support for children experiencing homelessness, as well as measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in emergency accommodation. Since 6 October last year, I have written to and met with chief executives of local authorities asking that all necessary actions be taken to ensure families the longest in emergency combination are provided with housing solutions by utilising the various options available to local authorities, including HAP, RAS and allocations of local authority and AHB homes. To further support this effort, funding of €150 million has been ring-fenced for acquisitions that will support households the longest in emergency accommodation to exit homelessness accommodation. In addition, the new plan recognises that domestic violence can lead to family homelessness. A protocol will be agreed with local authorities to ensure victims of domestic violence can transfer previous time spent on a social housing waiting list to another local authority, subject to meeting all social housing eligibility requirements.

Housing First is another key policy response in our efforts to reduce homelessness among our most vulnerable citizens. The new housing plan recognises that individuals experiencing homelessness with complex support needs often become entrenched in emergency homeless services. Under the plan, the Department of Health will provide increased health support to households experiencing homelessness through the implementation of the HSE national strategic plan to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness. Under the youth homeless strategy in place for the past three years, we introduced a range of new measures, including housing support for use in shared accommodation schemes. Budget 2026 provides a total allocation of €563.5 million to address homelessness. This includes €513.5 million in current funding to ensure local authorities can provide sufficient emergency accommodation as well as essential related services. Housing First makes provision for homeless prevention supports and data services and tenancy sustainment measures.

Everybody in this House wants to address homelessness. We might have different approaches to doing so but nobody in the Dáil has a monopoly on compassion. We must be constructive. Challenging policies and legislation is absolutely essential but whipping up false anger in a kind of performative effort is outrageous. I have pulled people in here up previously for just wanting to create social media clips. We have seen prime examples of that here today. There is only one housing spokesperson in the Chamber for my closing remarks, and that is Deputy Boyd Barrett. Deputy Sheehan was apparently outraged that I was not here earlier, which was because I was at a Cabinet committee meeting. It is outrageous, apparently, that a Minister should attend a Cabinet committee meeting. I do not control the scheduling of the business of the Dáil or of Cabinet committees. A photo was sent to me of Deputy Sheehan when he had barely finished speaking in the Chamber. He was at a Luas stop with a coat and jacket on, no doubt heading back to Limerick with his credibility left back here in the Dáil Chamber. Deputy Hearne was equally outraged that I was not here and that I would, as a Minister, dare to attend a Cabinet committee. The Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, explained why I was absent at the start of this debate. Again, the minute Deputy Hearne was finished speaking, he fled the building.

It is fine to try to whip up anger; that is straight out of the Trump playbook. However, I am struck by the cynicism and shallowness of it. Deputies opposite did not come in to talk about policy or legislation. We cannot expect people at home to understand the workings of the Dáil Chamber and committees. Members are regularly in other places around Leinster House doing work. We cannot always be in here, unfortunately. People at home do not know the workings of the Oireachtas but Deputies Hearne and Sheehan do know them. They are playing on the public's lack of knowledge of the workings of the Houses. They tried to whip up anger that I was not here for the start of the debate. I was doing my work as a member of the Cabinet at a Cabinet committee meeting.

There is also no one here from Sinn Féin, the Labour Party or the Social Democrats. Members of those parties spent the past hour and a half being outraged about homelessness but they are not here in the Chamber for my closing statement.

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