Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not expect the Minister to come to the House to negotiate with the unions but we have to try to move the issues forward. Several thousand students are out of their classrooms today and that should not happen. There is no such thing as a low stakes exam.

However, I would like to move on to the issue of John Corrie. May he rest in peace. He was born 43 years ago. I am sure a mother, father, brothers and sisters loved him. I knew nothing about him and, to my shame, if I passed him on the street, I would have turned my head the other way because I cannot look at homeless people. I live in fear, like most of us, that one day I may find myself homeless. I do not want the Minister to be brought to the House and I formally propose an amendment opposing that. I accept the Leader's offer of a two-hour debate tomorrow night. I will vote against the amendment. I do not want this man's death to be used as a game. None of us knows why he died. An autopsy will inform us at some stage in the future. However, tonight 167 people will be on the streets in Dublin. The Civil Defence has all the resources required to provide them with shelter. Will the Leader ask the Minister following the Order of Business to mobilise the Civil Defence as a short-term measure?

The Ormond Hotel on Ormond Quay has been lying idle for several years. Break down the doors and let the people in out of the cold.

What happened caused outrage because it happened outside our door, but it is happening every night of the week in every city in Ireland. I was up at 6 a.m. and went for a walk. By the time I got back to my house, I was frozen to the bone. I have no idea how those people survive. Please do not tell me that they are alcoholics and junkies. Someone hitting skid row and finishing up lying in a cold, wet doorway overnight is something that should outrage us all. It is to my shame that I have never done anything about it. I have a chance in this House to call for a debate. Homelessness is not just for Christmas. It goes on way beyond Christmas. Please do not give me a solution up to 26 December.