Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

This problem has not just been facing society since yesterday.

I welcome today's reports that discussions between members of the Government on rent certainty are ongoing. According to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, his officials will continue their discussions with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, and his Department. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, stated that both parties were committed to finding a way to control rents. A comment that I made in last night's statements on the budget bears repeating: 700 families in Ireland are homeless and living in emergency accommodation. In July, Dublin City Council paid €1.5 million to hotels to accommodate homeless people. Undoubtedly, people and, in particular, families are becoming homeless because they cannot afford rent increases. While my daughter sat on a DART yesterday, she overheard a girl crying to her mother on a mobile telephone because of a €200 increase in her rent. That is a fact, and we must act to stop this situation.