Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The more some people tweet, the more the veil slips. I draw the House's attention to the 56 black balloons that hang outside the railings of Leinster House today. They have been placed there by Inner City Helping Homeless, a volunteer organisation dedicated to supporting homeless people in our capital city. The Deputy Leader and I both know that one of the first actions of the new Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage was to establish a high-level task force dedicated to tackling and responding to the homeless crisis that he inherited. That task force is meeting, I understand, weekly and the Minister has secured a record budget of more than €230 million for homeless services next year. However, the reality of those balloons outside is that 56 homeless people have died in our capital city this year. Inner City Helping Homeless do not know and I do not know how many homeless people have died nationally. Their campaign is to ensure homeless people are not forgotten. I do not forget them, my party does not forget them and this Government will not forget them.

I would appreciate if the Deputy Leader would ask the Minister to have the homeless task force examine the provision of homeless services. Hundreds of millions of euro are being provided, there are more than 100 homeless service providers in the capital alone and, yet less than 100 m down Kildare Street are two people sleeping on a porch every night. There is something radically wrong and no life in this city or country should be forgotten. We will not forget them.