Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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The issue of homelessness in Limerick is spiralling to new and concerning levels. We have never seen it so bad. There is a complete absence of available emergency accommodation for those who desperately need it. Homelessness service providers have spoken to me, as they do regularly, and have advised me there are simply not enough available beds in the city. In fact, they understand there are none available at the moment. People who were once able to afford their rent can do so no longer and there seems to have been a significant increase in the number of notices to quit being issued across the board, given all my Dáil and council colleagues tell me the same. The recent issuing of such notices en masseto the residents of the Shannon Arms apartment complex is evidence of this, and with the severe lack of affordable rental units available in and around the city, it is no surprise there has been an increase in the demand for homelessness services.

My office, as I am sure is the case with those of all Limerick Deputies, has been inundated with calls from those at risk of losing their residence. Many are working families, often in great distress, who feel utterly abandoned by the State in their hour of need. Many simply do not earn enough to be able to afford a mortgage, but neither do they meet the income thresholds to avail of social housing supports. Even if they did, the Limerick housing list extends to 2,214 people and they have no hope of being housed, with thousands more people in precarious housing assistance payment, HAP, properties who live in fear of getting a notice to quit. Emergency accommodation in Limerick often includes a variety of properties such as hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, hostels and temporary accommodation, and there is now a deep concern some families will be unable to access any of these forms of accommodation.

Where are these people supposed to go? For too long when it comes to housing, governments have relied on the housing assistance payment, but HAP is at the discretion of the landlord and in many cases landlords will not accept tenants who want to avail of that payment. Even if they do, the payment itself is modest. HAP's usefulness has passed and without review it can no longer be fit for purpose. What we need is an increase in the number of available social and truly affordable houses. Today in my office, we were dealing with a family in which both parents are working. They are due to be evicted and have simply nowhere to go. There are no affordable units to rent and they earn too much to avail of State support. The limits that would allow them to get some State support have not changed since 2011. Their notice is nearly up and there is nothing we can do for them.

This family of seven will be homeless and on the streets. We cannot direct them to a temporary emergency accommodation solution as the units are all full. We have a cost-of-living crisis, rising unaffordable rents and landlords selling up and exiting the market. These factors combined are pushing people to their limits. We need an immediate ban on evictions to be introduced while we work through this cost-of-living crisis. I appeal to the Minister of State to personally intervene to ensure emergency spaces are opened and hard-working families are not put on the streets. A ban on evictions is needed immediately but an increase in the social income thresholds is also desperately needed. As it stands, the cut-off point is too low and excludes many of those who need such support.

We are facing a tsunami of evictions in Limerick and it must be stopped. As I said to the Minister of State, I have never seen anything like the current number of notices to quit and nor have any of the services in Limerick. I want to put that on record. The Minister of State should not say he has not been warned about what is happening. The rental crisis is one the Government and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage desperately need to resolve. Failure to do so will leave many families without a home. This is a crisis to add to the twin problems of homelessness and overcrowding. Sinn Féin believes much more can be done. It is time the Government stepped up to ensure increased investment in delivery of affordable and cost-rental houses.

Despite the challenges we are facing in Limerick, I commend the work of the providers of emergency accommodation in the city, including the council's homeless action team, Novas, Focus Ireland, the Simon Community and others that do great work. However, tonight, tomorrow and the day after they face the unenviable task of telling people they have nowhere to put them. They are under huge pressure and do tremendous work but are now limited in what they can do. Just before I finish, I mention in particular a voluntary, community-based organisation in Limerick called Help the Homeless where Jackie Purcell Duhig, Annemarie Sheehan and other volunteers do sterling work. The organisation is really the final front line. It feeds and clothes people in often appalling weather, like we have today.

We need action on notices to quit and an immediate ban on evictions.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. I was in Limerick last Friday meeting officials in relation to my portfolio but I also dropped into Limerick Men's Shed and I commend all fantastic work being done there.

I will try to address some of the questions the Deputy has raised. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority. The role of my Department is to ensure that a framework of policy, legislation and funding are provided to ensure housing authorities are in a position to address homelessness at a local level. I assure the Deputy that resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required. Budget 2022 reflects this commitment by allocating €194 million for homelessness services.

It is acknowledged that there are currently severe pressures on access to emergency accommodation in Limerick city for a variety of reasons. I understand that Limerick City and County Council is doing everything in its power to address this matter. Under Housing for All, the Government has committed to working to eradicate homelessness by 2030. The plan includes 18 distinct actions tailored to eliminate homelessness. These actions recognise individuals experiencing homelessness have additional support needs and include specific measures to address these needs. They include measures to engage with and support rough sleepers into sustainable accommodation, the continued expansion of Housing First, a focus on the construction and acquisition of one-bedroom homes and, importantly, ensuring provision of the necessary health and mental health supports required to assist homeless people with complex needs.

Tackling homelessness requires an inter-agency approach. In order to drive better co-ordination in respect of policy measures and actions, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has established the national homeless action committee, NHAC. All of the key Government Departments, agencies, NGOs and stakeholders are involved. One of the initial priorities of the NHAC is to examine additional measures to prevent individuals and families from entering into homelessness before they receive the notice to quit the Deputy spoke about.

The key to addressing homelessness is an increase in the supply of housing. That being the case, the Government has committed to the increased supply of public, social and affordable homes. We will increase the social housing stock by more than 50,000 with an emphasis on new builds. In budget 2022, we backed this objective with funding of €4 billion for the delivery of housing. In this regard, Limerick City and County Council has a target of over 2,600 units to be delivered under Housing for All. There are already 1,000 units in its pipeline and the council is currently working to add additional projects and units under a variety of delivery streams.

I assure Deputy Quinlivan and others in the House of the work being done. Addressing homelessness continues to be an absolute priority for this Government. The points raised about the HAP are valid. The overall thrust of Government policy is to try to reduce reliance on that payment. While the ESRI report outlines that these rental income supports are an important part of the infrastructure, the Minister is committed to ensuring we reduce that reliance. The only way we will do that is by delivering social housing stock. We are committed to doing that and it is important we do so. I will raise with the Minister the issues of emergency spaces and the social income thresholds.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. I missed him in the men's shed last week. I was there a few minutes after he arrived. St. Mary's Parish Men's Shed is a good facility.

I trust that with the answer he has just given, the Minister of State is being sincere. However, none of what he said bears fruit in the real world. Families are desperate. Rental prices are too high and too few, if any, properties are available. This has put immense stress on people. As I said, the homeless services are under severe pressure. They do a fantastic job but they cannot house people when there is no accommodation available. I want to know what we are going to do.

The Government's failure to provide a sufficient level of new social housing, coupled with the shrinking private market, is driving homeless presentations. The figures speak for themselves. The number of homeless adults and children has risen to over 10,000 according to the Department's own figures. On the Minister's watch, there has been a 24% increase in homelessness compared with the same month last year. As with house prices, there is increase after increase. The figures for adult homelessness tell us there are 283 adults homeless in Limerick. Obviously, there are many more people who have nowhere to stay and there are more on the streets than we have ever seen. Many are couch-surfing or just living in very poor conditions, often in extremely overcrowded homes. Many such people are not on any of these lists. The mid-west has 109 homeless children, the bulk of whom are in Limerick city. What is striking and also very disappointing about these figures is the number of young adults in homeless accommodation. People who should be in the most exciting period of their lives are battling with having to settle for homeless accommodation. There has been a 70% increase year on year in these figures.

There is something seriously wrong, and if the Minister of State thinks the Government's housing plan is working, he is delusional. I do not say that as a means of abusing him but I do not think he gets exactly what is happening on the ground. My office is inundated as a result of this and it is not the only one. As we speak, there is no emergency accommodation available. Where are people supposed to go?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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To reiterate, there has been an increase in homelessness and a rise in notices to quit, along with a decrease in availability of HAP properties as landlords leave the market and rents for those remaining increase. There is, therefore, a real and significant challenge. Local authorities use commercial hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation but as the tourism market opens up, that accommodation is becoming restricted as well.

The Department sets the overall policy and legislative framework that provides the necessary resources and decisions on the range of homeless accommodation required. The funding of such services is a matter for the individual authorities. The administration of homelessness services is organised on a regional basis with a lead authority in place for each region. Limerick City and County Council is the lead authority for the mid-west region, which includes Clare Country Council. Some €8.2 million in Exchequer funding was provided to the mid-west region in 2021, with over €3.8 million in funding recouped to date in 2022 and further payments to be made. I again assure the Deputy that resources are not the problem.

We have a significant challenge, as I said, across a number of sectors. This will be addressed primarily in the medium to long term by the coming on stream of social and affordable housing. The Government is doing all in its power under Housing for All and Housing First to work with local authorities, including Limerick City and County Council, to ensure they are able to meet their requirements. There is no doubt it is a significant challenge.

I will take the specific points the Deputy has raised back to the Minister and we can expand on them in a further response, if that is okay.