Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is very unfair on the Dublin region homeless executive. The Senator spoke about the location of services for homeless people and others. The fact is that most of these services are located in the inner city because that is where the people who need them are located. It is not just a question of "not in my back yard", it is also a question of the fact that the people who need these services have to access them. Public transport is an issue in that context. There is a bona fide reason for locating these services in the city centre.

While I am on this point, I would like to ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the growing problem of homelessness and the growing difficulty with the whole issue of housing in this country. Indeed, this is linked to the shortage of housing. There is a need for a debate with the new Minister on housing, homelessness, the construction sector and the general issues we are going to have to tackle if we are to ensure homelessness does not become an even greater problem than it is at present. The President intervened on the issue during the week. I would like the Minister to come to this House to talk about his strategy for dealing with this problem in the near future.