Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

Some 30% of people on the waiting list are single while another 32% are lone parents with one child. Therefore, some 62% of those on the waiting list are either single or lone parents with one child. Just under 20% of families on the waiting list in Fingal and south Dublin local authority areas are non-nationals who have been given asylum status or the right to stay here. Those families were not on the waiting list ten years ago. If one states that the number on the waiting list has increased by X% or Y% compared to some years ago, one is not comparing like with like.