Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I have in my hand the recommendations from the report by the Housing Commission, which was recently published. The commission was established in December 2021. At that stage, there were 8,900 homeless people, including approximately 2,450 children. Today, nearly three and a half years on - that is, two and a half years of work and a year of a delay - the number of homeless has nearly doubled, with 15,580 homeless, including 4,775 children. This is the backdrop against which the commission's report lands. The report rightly concludes that housing must be seen as a national priority. There are 83 recommendations around providing shelter - not only that, but also providing social cohesion and support our economic future.

The question that was constantly asked at the housing committee the other day was, why has the commission's work not been implemented? Why has it only accepted to appear before the committee a year after the report was published? There were two and a half years of meetings and hundreds of hours with input from experts, academics and housing bodies, so what have we done with it as an Oireachtas? Have we disagreed with the findings? Were there no immediate recommendations in the findings? I have looked through them, and there certainly seem to be. Was it shelved for other reasons? It looks to me like we are in paralysis and that the way we established the commission and did not deal with it was chaotic. We say time and again that homelessness and housing are priorities but it seems we as an Oireachtas are not behaving in that way. Perhaps the most damning reality is that there were amazing experts at the commission, people who offered a game-changer. They had the knowledge and made the recommendations but, unfortunately, we are not working together. That has to change. I wonder if it is a cultural problem rather than a structural problem. When the pandemic hit, we all clicked fingers and got everything done. When 100,000 Ukrainians came to Ireland and needed refuge and accommodation, we clicked our fingers and got it done. When it comes to housing, though. the urgency does not seem to be there. The Leas-Chathaoirleach will know that, in my own work of working with people who come from addiction, homelessness, etc., we have seen amazing things happen with people turning their lives around and going against the very culture they are coming from.

It is not just about supply; it is about taking down the barriers of red tape, silos and all the delays that there are. We are facing a generation of younger people without housing. That there are 4,775 children in emergency accommodation is unforgivable. We need courage and collaboration but, above all, joined-up thinking, which I have called for before. We need a debate in this House and the commission needs to be brought in and for us to discuss the recommendations. Let us start implementing them.