Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) | Oireachtas source

When I was elected to this House last year, there were over 15,000 people in emergency accommodation. The most recent figures, which came out last year, show that there has been a 12% increase overall. There was a small drop in December, but if we take into account temporary accommodation and families taking in some of their family members, that seasonal dip does not really show, and it should not distract us. It does not change the underlying trend that we are going the wrong way with homelessness. I was delighted to see the Taoiseach and the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, open the new 75-bed Simon facility that is much needed in Dublin. However, what matters most is a housing policy that actually delivers housing for all those people, and it needs to be an absolute priority.

I also want to mention an ongoing matter. I was contacted by the fishing community in Greystones. Despite a recent High Court settlement, the reality on the ground has not changed in any meaningful way.The conditions attached for the fishermen to secure a commercial berth are so restrictive that in practice it nearly makes it impossible. It looks like they will have to go back to court in order to continue fishing, and I know that was not the intention of the court outcome. I am deeply concerned about the fees being proposed for the use of the harbour facilities. They are significantly higher than anywhere else in the county, but also higher than elsewhere in the State. There appears to be no consistent method of calculating these charges. That raises questions about fairness.

The issue goes well beyond the individual operators. People who know Greystones and the new marina are aware it is a fantastic facility, but families who have been involved in fishing for up to five generations have spent 15 years in the courts trying to get their fishing rights back from the very harbour that they fished out of initially, and it now looks like they will have to go back to court again. They were removed from the old harbour in 2008 for the redevelopment and they have since faced repeated attempts to push them out again. A legal settlement was reached only recently to provide a safe functional area, yet the fishing community tells me that the Department think it is fixed, but in practical terms on the ground it is actually not. The new marina is a wonderful place, but the fishermen and their activities should be able to coexist. Will the Leader request that the relevant Ministers urgently revisit the matter, engage directly with the fishing community in Greystones and ensure that the settlement that is implemented is workable, fair and respectful of a tradition that predates all of the recent development of the marina?