Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of rough sleepers. A count last night showed 156 people were sleeping rough in Dublin, and that included 121 people in the Dublin City Council area. Anthony Flynn, the CEO of the Inner City Helping Homeless charity, alluded to the fact that if those rough sleeping in the suburbs were taken into account, the figure would be as high as 200. I heard him speak on the radio recently about a new phenomenon of people pitching tents on beaches in the Portmarnock and Killiney areas. A total of 9,724 people are living in emergency accommodation.Many of the emergency hostels opened last year are closing because their leases are running out. I raised this issue last week but it will become critical in the coming days as the weather worsens. Rain, sleet and snow are forecast. What does the Government intend to do to tackle the problem of rough sleepers? It is a problem that is not getting better. It is getting worse, and people are finding themselves in very difficult circumstances.

The second issue I want to raise concerns the Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Act. When will the Government commence the Act? I have been contacted by families in same-sex marriages and unions who are very much in a legal limbo in respect of the civil parentage of their children.