Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the opportunity provided to the Seanad to have this important debate. This morning The Irish Times quoted from the most recent CSO survey on income and living conditions in Ireland, which showed that the gap between the richest and poorest grew by more than 25% in 2010. The rate of those at risk of poverty rose from 14.1% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2010. I obviously expect that trend has continued in 2011. With that backdrop, it is appropriate that I address my statement on housing concerns to two very vulnerable groups historically in Irish society, namely, the long-term homeless and people with disabilities.

These housing concerns have been long known to successive Governments. They were never solved during the boom and I am very concerned that their specific needs will be further sidelined now that the housing crisis is affecting the general population so seriously.

Focus Ireland has estimated that as many as 5,000 people are homeless in Ireland at one time. Of that number, 1,500 children are homeless each year and a quarter of these are under 12. The previous Government had a target to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2010. Unfortunately, that was not achieved. I feel really strongly about the need to end long-term homelessness, not only because of the social justice imperative and in the best interests of homeless children, but also because it saves money for the Exchequer. When we start looking at the figures, it is estimated that it costs €30,000 per annum for a bed in emergency accommodation, whereas it can cost as little as €14,500 to provide a home, even in Dublin.

According to the current policy, it is not deemed unacceptable for a person to be in emergency accommodation for up to six months. I first came across the term "emergency accommodation" when I worked in the Children's Rights Alliance and I thought it meant 24 hours or even one week, but this can go on for much longer periods. The majority of homeless people are in emergency accommodation for over two years. Some have been there for ten years. There are 2,500 individuals in emergency accommodation in Dublin city centre alone, including 225 family households. For family households, emergency accommodation can mean bed and breakfast accommodation. This means that if a person has a young baby, she may have to bath the baby in the shower. I have heard of children doing their homework on the side of suitcases. The whole family structure breaks down, so it has a severe and detrimental effect. My simplistic calculation of the cost of those in emergency accommodation in Dublin comes to €38 million. I struggle to understand why we continue to use emergency accommodation on such a long-term basis. I find it quite unacceptable.

I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to ending long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough. I understand that in order to achieve this goal, in addition to the delivery of supports and services for individuals and families vulnerable to homelessness, 3,000 homes are required nationally to end long-term homelessness by 2013. Given that only a few hundred homes have been delivered over the past three years by all local authorities and housing associations nationally, how are we going to deliver the required 3,000 homes?

I understand that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, announced last December that 2,000 units had been earmarked by NAMA to be available for social housing. I understand that further progress has been made on this and the Department is currently looking at 500 as viable for purchase or lease. Can the Minister of State provide us with any information in this respect? How many of these units will go to provide homes to homeless people?

The launch of the new housing strategy for people with disabilities is a welcome step. We need to see progress on several issues and I hope that this happens soon, including the establishment of a housing and disability steering group in each local authority. The supply and range of measures currently being deployed do not always meet the needs of people with disabilities. For example, the rental accommodation scheme and leased properties are usually not suitable for people with physical disabilities. What progress has been made to date on the strategy? It is of particular concern to me.

I have no doubt that colleagues have spoken before on the housing supply, and I can see that Senator Hayden is due to speak, so she will provide much more expert advice than I will on this issue. It has radically changed over the past two years, with a focus now on flexible measures, including long-term leasing of accommodation. In 2007, over 9,500 new social homes were provided in the State but in 2011, that figure dropped to between 3,500 and 4,000. We can see that the demand is increasing, but the supply is clearly reducing. I am concerned about that. I believe that the voluntary and co-operative sector could provide a great resource here. I notice the Minister of State is agreeing with me. Why is 62% of the resources allocated to social housing for the period 2012-2016, under the infrastructure and capital investment framework, being directed to local authorities and the private sector, when the majority of the new supply is expected to come from the voluntary and co-operative sector? I do not understand that figure.

I have much more to ask the Minister of State, but I will finish with a point on unfinished housing estates. I know of an estate where 25 of the 30 houses are finished, and I can provide the Minister of State with the details. Each end of the estate is occupied, but the rest of the estate has been boarded up and is under security watch. A young man has been employed to be the security guard for the estate. He sits in his car 14 hours per day outside the estate. I would lose patience sitting around for an hour in my car. This young man has 20 weeks left to complete his bricklaying apprenticeship and he is looking in at those five unfinished houses. He cannot emigrate because he has not got his apprenticeship, but he is very close to doing so. It does not make sense to me. I am sure he is not alone. I am sure it is not an isolated case. I will forward my other questions to the Minister of State. I appreciate the opportunity presented by this debate.