Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I stand in the beautiful Ceramics Room of the National Museum of Ireland and welcome all of my colleagues back for what I hope will be a fruitful new term. We, in Fianna Fáil, are very grateful to the staff of the National Museum of Ireland for facilitating our temporary relocation. We promise to ensure the integrity of the museum will be maintained and respected at all times throughout our stay.

I commend the Office of Public Works which is represented by the architect Ms Hilary Vandenberghe, the ushers, the Oireachtas Commission and the staff of the Seanad for all of the work they have done behind the scenes in the past year or more to ensure a smooth transition and also the viability of Leinster House into the future for politicians, staff and the public to either work in and enjoy.

As we sit in this beautiful room the homeless crisis is deepening. At the launch yesterday of the 2016 annual report of the Mercy Law Resource Centre, an organisation that provides independent legal services and which gave legal advice to over 1,077 individuals last year, the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, outlined three issues that he recognised were causing the homeless crisis to worsent. The first was the unlawful refusal to provide emergency accommodation for individuals. The second was the lack of proper needs assessments for children who were or on the verge of becoming homeless. The third was the over-reliance on what he described as self-accommodation that left children vulnerable to rough sleeping.Self-accommodation means that individuals have to spend the day making calls to hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation in the hope of securing accommodation and sometimes they do not succeed. He also called for more State intervention for those on the cusp of homelessness and for psychological support for children who are currently, or were previously, homeless. He described a tsunami of hurt coming down the line for which we must prepare. We must ensure that the supports are there for those who need them including, as a priority, emotional support. This is good advice that I hope the Government will heed.

The statistics themselves are shocking. At the end of 2015, 3,625 adults, 1,616 children and 775 families were homeless. At the end of 2016, these figures rose to 4,643 adults, 2,505 children and 1,205 families. Shockingly, by May 2017, the figures, which continued to grow, reached a new peak of 7,700 people, including 2,700 children. The elephant in the room is the lack of supply and the lack of affordable homes. The average price of a home in Dublin now stands at €400,000 but the average salary is in or around €45,000. The average house costs nine times the average salary. Even for many double income, no children households, the average house is out of reach. I call on the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to address this House and to outline his immediate plans with regard to the housing crisis. It is not the first time I have raised this matter in the House.

Another topic which requires increased scrutiny is the Government's handling of Brexit. The uncertainty caused by Brexit is of serious concern to the Irish public. I agree with the views of my party colleague, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, that waiting to see what happens is not a viable position, given the importance that the outcome of any negotiations will have on all sectors of the economy and on the Irish population. While the comments of the British Prime Minister, Ms Theresa May, on the Good Friday Agreement and on the fact that a transition period is required are welcome, harm to our SMEs remains ongoing with the failure of the Government to outline exactly its contingency plans. Businesses, especially small businesses reliant on trade with the UK, are suffering. A truly national response is needed in preparation for a hard Brexit but this does not seem to be forthcoming. I call on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to address this House in the coming weeks and to clarify the Government's position on a number of key issues, including the Border, post-Brexit relations with the UK and our position vis-à-visthe European Union.

I would like to make one observation regarding our health system. Today's trolley watch figures show 425 people on trolleys, while the figure this time last year was 345 - an increase of 23%. Waiting lists for assessment for speech therapy in Dublin South-Central alone are at 278, while the list for those awaiting therapy is at 907. The average waiting time for an appointment for an occupational therapy assessment in Dublin South-Central is 43 weeks. These figures, though highlighting a particular area, clearly demonstrate our failed system. I call on the Minister for Health to come to House to outline his plans for public health in this country.