Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. I commend every word Senator Seery Kearney just said. The people of Ireland have an affinity with those who need protection and shelter. It is in an affinity born from our history of colonisation, oppression and dispossession. Just over 150 years ago, so many of our people escaped the starvation of An Gorta Mór by fleeing to the four corners of the world. Through our history, we understand what it means to be forced to flee in fear and heartbreak for our beloved homeland. We know the loneliness of exile and the humiliation of discrimination. "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish" was the message that met my parents in the 1950s. They were economic migrants. I was born to parents of economic migrants. In the 1980s, I became an economic migrant along with hundreds of thousands of others. This is a legacy that has formed deep-rooted humanity and compassion and a genuine desire to help those who come to Ireland seeking refuge.

Just this weekend, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin to show solidarity with refugees and migrants. I was proud to be among them to celebrate the fabulous, rich variety and diversity that comprise Ireland today. However, the Government's response falls far short of that of the people. It even falls short of its own commitments. This failure to meet its commitments is matched only by its failure to engage with local communities. A mentality of division has been fostered by it. We see this in the pitting of the private sector against the public sector, rural people against urban people and, even last week, existing renters against new renters in respect of rent pressure zones.

Communities all over Ireland have for decades been denied access to the supports and public services they are entitled to. This has caused genuine suffering and pain. Some honesty is required here from the Government. Refugees are not responsible for the neglect of so many people, families, communities and social groups. They did not cause the crisis in housing, healthcare and public services. The reality is that they were entirely foreseeable and preventable. They were created by the policies of the Government and its predecessors.

The Taoiseach has spoken about managing immigration, but what we need is an efficient system that works, fulfils our humanitarian obligations and helps with the betterment of our society. This means asylum applications must be processed efficiently and decisions must be taken efficiently, and we must see an end to the limbo in which so many people find themselves.

It is now nearly two years since the Government published its White Paper on ending direct provision, yet we are still no closer to ending this inhumane and ineffective system. In fact, the number of direct provision centres more than doubled to 47 in 2022.

I accept that Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the large increase in protection applicants have created challenges. From the start, however, it was clear that capital investment and a serious commitment to the approved housing body options outlined in the White Paper would be the real difference-maker. Instead of receiving support from other Departments and agencies, the Minister has found his Department competing with Government agencies for turnkey projects. Addressing these issues should not fall to one Minister alone. This challenge must kickstart a long-overdue response from all in government to deliver appropriate accommodation and necessary services for everyone in Ireland.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, must significantly increase his housing targets, particularly those for the number of social and affordable homes delivered each year. He must also lift the red tape from councils and approved housing bodies to deliver more housing at an accelerated pace. This will also require additional capital investment from the Exchequer. The Government must also explore all other funding options, including the Housing Finance Agency and the European Investment Bank. In addition to accelerating the public housing projects already in the pipeline, the Government must identify dormant private developments with planning permission and, subject to strict financial controls, flip these into public housing. With at least 90,000 vacant homes across the State, the Government must do more to bring the stock back into active use.

To stem the rapid rise in homelessness, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage must allow local authorities to buy private rental properties where the sitting housing assistance payment or rental assistance payment tenants have a notice to quit and are at risk of homelessness. The Government must also tap into the 62,000 vacant holiday homes to ensure Ukrainian refugees have appropriate emergency accommodation on arrival. However, we must look beyond accommodation also. The Ministers for education, health, transport and other Ministers must also step up to establish wraparound services for all in the community. The Government must not continue to put vulnerable people in need of support services in towns and villages already struggling to provide services without making genuine and tangible efforts to provide those services. International Protection Accommodation Services and the Minister can conjure up accommodation from wherever, but without a whole-of-government response it will fail both applicants and the communities they join.

The people have made clear this weekend what Ireland they want. We need a government that reflects this – a government that does not foster division but that understands and gives effect to our desire to provide for all who share our island. We need a whole-of-government response. Now is the time to be ambitious and make the necessary changes. We need a plan that leaves no person or family behind. Such a plan is possible. All that is lacking is the political will.