Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that Forbes has named Ireland as the best country in which to do business, ranking it first this year as opposed to sixth last year, with New Zealand and Hong Kong in second and third places, respectively. However, it is something of a mixed blessing, in that the reasons cited for Ireland being such a good place to do business include the 12.5% unemployment rate and the availability of a highly qualified workforce. While it is good to be acknowledged as a great place to do business, we must look at some of the reasons for that.

In that context, Pfizer has cut the number of jobs in its Newbridge plant by 150, which follows the loss of 570 jobs at the MSD plant in Swords and 110 jobs in Castlebar. On the other hand, there has been growth in the biopharmaceutical area. It is important that we do not end up with a situation in which there are structural issues where plant is available and educated workers are losing their jobs on the one hand and, on the other, emerging sectors within the industry are showing great promise. Will the Leader invite the Minister to the House to discuss the future of the pharmaceutical sector and what actions the Government is taking to protect jobs in that sector?

Once again, I seek an emergency debate on homelessness, as I have done on a number of occasions previously. A number of matters have emerged in the last week that show the seriousness of the problem. According to the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, there has been an increase of almost 50% in the number of people sleeping rough, the highest number since 2007 when the count began. That is on top of a doubling of the number of people who are presenting as homeless to the Homeless Agency. It includes a significant increase in the number of families. I was also struck by a recent report on the Dóchas Centre, the Mountjoy women's prison, in which the Irish Penal Reform Trust points to homelessness as a significant reason for women being in prison.

Last weekend, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, announced the provision of €100 million for the construction of new social housing units. A proportion of those units should be allocated specifically for homeless provision. Money is also being made available to local authorities to bring forward voids more quickly. However, much of that housing is three bedroom housing or family accommodation, but the majority of people in homeless accommodation are single men and women. There must be a strategy to ensure that a proportion of those voids is kept for single people. We must broaden the subject of this debate to cover housing generally and housing supply. It has become clear that the type of people presenting as homeless has expanded dramatically to include people who are experiencing a difficulty with rent arrears or, quite simply, experiencing the impossibility of finding housing.