Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2020-11-26
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Eoin Ó Broin (SF), Dublin Mid-West

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. We all remember that Mr. Jonathan Corrie died on 1 December 2014 while sleeping rough in a doorway opposite Dáil Éireann. The tragic death of the 43-year-old father of two caused widespread public concern and anger. His daughter, Natasha, told RTÉ in an interview that, in her view, those in power failed her father. She said: "He could have been helped a bit more, like they didn't help him the way they should have helped him." On the basis of the very significant increase in the number of deaths among those who are either sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation, it seems that little has changed and that, in fact, some things are getting worse.
We need to increase funding for mental health and addiction supports, particularly for this vulnerable cohort, as a matter of urgency. We need to end dormitory-style emergency accommodation and we need thousands, rather than hundreds, of Housing First tenancies. We also need adult safeguarding reviews to ensure that we learn lessons from past mistakes. Will the Tánaiste commit to raising these issues at Cabinet? Will he push for an emergency response to the growing crisis of deaths among those experiencing homelessness?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-11-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-11-26