Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to raise the issue of the Organisation for National Ex-Service Personnel, ONE. I raise in particular the funding for housing for these ex-servicemen. A fuchsia appeal was launched in July, which is a charity. I do not believe that ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen that have served their country so proudly should have to rely on charity when they fall on hard times. ONE has several houses around the country. One of them is in my own hometown of Athlone and others are in Dublin, Letterkenny and Limerick. There are also several different drop-in centres, all of which are funded by charity, although I do not think that is good enough. Single men, in particular, are falling through the cracks when they leave the Army, although not just the Army, and find themselves in a situation where they need support. All the ONE fund-raisers are volunteers. I ask the Leader to speak to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and ask him to address this issue within his housing strategy and the budget. These houses receive nothing from the Government or from their county councils. I think the house in Dublin receives some money from a Dublin county council but that is as much as it is. I urge that this is raised with the Minister. It is not good enough for ex-servicemen who have served their country.