Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The opinion poll published in The Irish Timestoday would seem to indicate that the people have lost trust in this Government. That is not surprising when one considers the mounting evidence. The Tánaiste has been critical of her partners in Government over Fine Gael's attempts to relieve the tax burden on the wealthy.

According to Mr. Liam Doran, the hospital trolley situation now represents a dangerous crisis. The number of patients on trolleys has doubled over recent years. In 2006 a national emergency was declared on the issue. We have the ongoing sad and tragic homeless situation. The Government has been very tardy in attempting to address and relieve the homelessness crisis. We in Fianna Fáil have consistently pressed our concerns to highlight the failings of the Government to take real action in meeting its pledge for homelessness by 2016. The tragic death earlier this week is a sharp reminder of the immediacy of the problem and the scale of the challenge.

I hope the Leader will convey this to the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Why has there not been a meeting of county managers following debates that took place in this House with the then Minister of State with responsibility for housing, the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, in which it was made perfectly clear that a significant number of boarded-up houses could be refurbished and for which at least some of those local authorities have funding? As was pointed out in that debate and admitted by the then Minister of State, there is a bureaucratic delay. It is incumbent on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to call the county managers together. I cannot understand why he has not done this up to now.

The Government could immediately announce that it is increasing the rent supplement. I am not interested in hearing counterarguments as to what might happen in the housing market if that were done. All the housing organisations, including Simon, have called on the Government to increase the rent supplement.

This is a real crisis, but it can be resolved with goodwill. I am not surprised that the opinion polls reflect the voters' distrust the Government, when they see something as immediate and resolvable as the housing crisis in a sense being kicked to one side. I appreciate that today's forum has been established to discuss the matter. I hope the Government will act in this regard. We will continue to press the Government to ensure it makes moves to resolve the crisis. Those are immediate proposals that I have made. I would be grateful for the Leader's response.

I am sure I speak for all Members of the House when on behalf of our group I again convey our deepest sympathy to Seán Rowlette and his family from County Sligo on the death of his wife Sally. The jury at the inquest yesterday returned a result of medical misadventure. It raised very serious questions about what is going on in the health service, particularly in Sligo General Hospital where it has now been acknowledged there is a shortage of permanent consultants. In fact one of the consultants involved in that tragic case left the hospital two weeks after the sad event of Sally Rowlette's death. I again ask for the Minister for Health to come to the House to explain the continuing crisis in the appointment of permanent consultants. Many of them seem to be on temporary or short-term contracts which, while they have not directly resulted in it, certainly have contributed to the tragic and, as it turned out, unnecessary death of this woman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.