In response to an earlier question, the Minister made a comment about bringing forward solutions. We can come in here and fight every week - we could fight for the next five years - but we have taken the decision to come in and try to work with the Government and bring forward solutions. Three weeks ago, I brought forward a solution. While it will not fix the housing crisis, it would bring in thousands of empty and boarded-up council houses that are owned by the State. We now own enough boarded-up council properties that we could house every family living in homelessness accommodation. That could be achieved. All we need is funding and staffing for local authorities. We also need local authorities to get back to building houses directly. I ask the Minister to reverse the decisions taken by Fianna Fáil in the 1990s to take local authorities out of building homes and to return us to a system that worked. On a final point, the Government slashed funding to the tenant in situ scheme. I am dealing with families who are still feeling the effects of that.

Sentiment score: -0.04

The Minister talks about local authorities delivering on target and delivering social housing and cost-rental and affordable housing. Cork City Council is probably one of the best local authorities in the State for delivering social and cost-rental and affordable housing, and yet the housing list goes up. It is because the Minister's Government has set targets so low that even when local authorities do hit the targets they are supposed to hit, the numbers of people looking for social housing are going up. The homelessness figures are going up every month. I believe the figure we are at now is 4,844 children, off the top of my head. I asked the Minister's predecessor, Darragh O'Brien, how many children must become homeless before he and this Government will accept that the policy has failed. I do not want it to get to 5,000 and I do not think the Minister does either, but 5,000 children will be homeless in the lifetime of this Government. We were in here two weeks ago with a cross-party proposal in relation to the Raise the Roof rally and fixing the housing emergency. This is an emergency and the Minister is not treating it like one. I ask him sincerely to grab this Government and say, "This is a housing emergency, so stand up and deliver the solutions that we need."

Sentiment score: -0.04