It is a sad day when a Government resorts to extracting €58 million from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the community to help balance the books. When these cuts, particularly the rental subsidy regulations, kick in, they will inevitably lead to greater homelessness and lengthening local authority housing lists. Housing statistics issued by the Minister of State's Department for March 2003 indicated that 48,413 households were on local authority housing waiting lists. This represents an 80% increase since 1996. The number of homelessness now stands at 5,234 compared to 2,501 in 1996, an increase of 109% and a damning indictment of the Government's policies on housing.