Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The second issue I was going to mention was touched on by Senator Horkan, namely, the rising tide of people who have no home. Coming into Leinster House, it was interesting to hear the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government dealing with this issue as best he could in an interview on RTÉ radio. However, the fundamental problem as I see it is that we are not engaged in joined-up thinking on housing, homelessness and the kind of infrastructure we need in Ireland. There are a lot of people in different silos pursuing different projects. It was mentioned by the interviewer on RTÉ, Sean O'Rourke, that student accommodation is now being built at breakneck speed across Dublin. I am acquainted with one project on Church Street opposite where I have an office. It went from nothing to something in the space of a year.