Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am the first person to mention the shocking number of people who are homeless. I welcome the "Hear, hears". That is grand. Of course, the figures are getting worse under the Minister's watch every month. When he was in a supply and confidence arrangement, he was quite clear that a figure of 7,000 homeless people was not acceptable. We are now heading to double that figure.It is a shocking record. We need to go beyond the statistics and think about the impact on families and children of having no home. I am referring to the people we meet in our clinics every week. We should think about the horrific levels of insecurity, stress and strain on families who are left to struggle in hubs or hotel rooms for months on end. I am told in Limerick that if someone gets into a hub right now, he or she can expect to be there for at least a year. That is the reality. Let us think of the damage that is doing to our children.

The Minister’s colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, described these figures as a scandal this morning. He was right. It is a scandal that belongs solely to Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. Senator McDowell should note that the suggestion that Sinn Féin is somehow responsible for the housing crisis is really risible. We know who has been in power for the past 12 years.

A point I have made before but which I want to make again is that when we talk about housing, we are not talking about some kind of natural disaster. It is not like an earthquake or landslide. The reason we have a housing crisis is decades of appalling housing policy. At the heart of that is an ideology that we should leave housing to the marketplace. That is why 1975 was the last time when there was a half-decent amount of social housing. In the decades after that, be it under Fine Gael or its sister party, Fianna Fáil, the best thought was to leave it to the marketplace. That is why we are in the crisis we are in today.

I want to talk to the Minister about where I live, Limerick. As of last Friday, the council was notified of 174 evictions that will happen in the coming weeks. The Minister has given Limerick council a target of purchasing 75 homes this year for tenants in situ.