Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I also welcome ambassador Pavel Vošalík to the House. He is a marvellous representative of his country and it is wonderful to have him here.

As the winter comes in and the nights get darker, I am seriously uneasy and frustrated regarding the worsening homelessness situation in our country. The most recent figures released by the Department of housing are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. I am involved with the homeless services on Pearse Street and we see individuals every night of the week there. Over 16,000 of our fellow citizens are now on the emergency homeless list and 5,100 of them are children. We have crossed that awful threshold of 5,000 homeless children for the first time. To me, these are not statistics because I know the families. Imagine there are entire classrooms of children without a place to call home.

In the past year alone the number of people in emergency accommodation has increased by 13%. Behind those figures are nearly 2,400 families, about 2,000 young adults and around 252 people of pension age. People who once paid rent, raised families and contributed all the way in their communities are now finding themselves in emergency accommodation and basically living in limbo. As the winter comes in and it gets colder, we are meeting people who are in quiet despair. They are not faceless figures in a report. They are our neighbours, daughters and people in our communities. As Focus Ireland and the Simon Community have said, housing is not just about bricks and mortar. We need wraparound services, supported housing and mental health care and those in addiction need extra supports. Otherwise, we are simply moving people from one crisis to another.

I ask that emergency measures be introduced. In the Lighthouse, for example, every time there is a storm or snow, we have to roll out new initiatives. I am saying let us plan ahead for those initiatives. It is not about politics but about compassion. It is time for the half measures to be addressed.