By any yardstick, the Minister stands indicted on the issue of social housing because local authority housing lists will continue to grow as a result of a reduction in the overall allocation of accommodation programmes. There are approximately 50,000 households, representing approximately 130,000 people, on local authority housing lists. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people are homeless. One homeless person is an indictment of all of us and it is one person too many. A significant number of people who were once in a position to buy their own homes have been priced out of the market. The Government announced a number of savage cutbacks in the housing sector in the Book of Estimates which was published on 21 November. We only have to look at the reports by Focus Ireland, the Simon Community, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Threshold which analyse the housing strategies and homeless plans drawn up by local authorities. One report concluded that 33% of new householders and 42% in urban areas will not become home owners.