Homelessness: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-15 ============================================================ Joe O'Reilly (FG), Labour Panel I welcome the Minister to the House. I salute my colleague Senator McCarthy for his practical contribution in this area. It is admirable. My family has an association with this question that I am proud of. My son, Eoghan, has worked for the past couple of years for the McVerry Trust in Dublin as a social care worker with the homeless. I am particularly proud of that involvement, and it makes me acutely aware of a number of the issues from conversations with him. He is passionate about these questions. I will make a few formal comments. No one in this House is comfortable with the current homelessness figures. Every individual or family without a secure home represents a failure of systems, of supports and of supply. We must recognise both the progress that has been made and the scale of what still needs to be done. The reality is that housing delivery is moving in the right direction with supply increasing across social, affordable and private housing. That matters because ultimately the only sustainable way to reduce homelessness at scale is to build more homes. However, if we are serious about making a lasting impact, we must go further in accelerating delivery, removing barriers and ensuring that the entire system, from planning to infrastructure, can sustain that growth. On social housing, we need to continue scaling up delivery while also building smarter. That means expanding modern construction methods so homes can be delivered faster and more efficiently. It means maximising the potential of State-owned land through the Land Development Agency. It also means strengthening project management capacity within local authorities so delays between planning, procurement and construction are minimised. In that context, I am proud that Cavan and Monaghan have a good record on social housing but one is never comfortable that one has enough. Social housing is not just about units; it is about stability. When a family has a secure home everything becomes more possible. Children do better in school, parents can focus on work and communities become stronger and more settled. Investing in social housing is investing in opportunity, dignity and the long-term health of our society and I am a great believer that we need to focus big in there. On affordable housing, we need to scale up what is already working. The first home scheme is helping first-time buyers bridge the affordability gap and it has a good pick-up. While affordable purchase schemes deliver through local authorities and the Land Development Agency, LDA, is creating mixed sustainable communities, the vacant property refurbishment grant is another practical measure that is delivering. The recent croí cónaithe scheme has been a big success and the help-to-buy scheme is important in terms of a tax rebate. Across towns and villages, buildings are being brought back into use, quickly adding supply while revitalising communities. These are tangible effective tools and the priority now is to expand them, simplify access and ensure they are delivered at scale. In the private housing sector, viability and certainty remain key. We need a planning system that provides clarity and predictability rather than delay and risk. We also need to continue incentivising the activation of vacant and derelict properties, which can be brought back into use far more quickly than new-builds. At the same time, we must ensure that regulatory and cost pressures do not unintentionally stall development. If we want private supply to increase, the system must support builders to build. As the Government cannot finance the entire investment needed to fund the level of housing requirement, we need that investment. Therefore, the private sector, twinned with the other areas, is critical to helping us build our way out of the housing crisis. This brings me to the wider reforms under way. Increasing housing supply is not just about funding. It is about having a system that can deliver efficiently. Planning reform is central to that effort and significant attempts have been made recently. We need statutory timelines, streamlined judicial reviews and a modernised planning authority all helping to reduce delays and increase certainty. Infrastructure investment is equally critical. Homes cannot be delivered without water, wastewater, transport and utilities and that must match what is going on in the building. Government investment in these areas is already unlocking development and enabling more sustainable, higher density communities. Through regeneration funds, towns and cities are also being revitalised in a planned and co-ordinated way. Housing delivery depends on a system that works from end to end and these reforms are essential to making that happen. Even with all of this, homelessness is not solely a housing supply issue. For many, it is the end point of a complex chain of disadvantage. Addiction remains a significant driver, with individuals caught in cycles of substance misuse often finding it extremely difficult to sustain tenancies or rebuild stability in their own lives. Our response must be routed in support for these people. That means better integration between addiction services and housing supports as well as expanding access to long-term recovery accommodation that allows people to rebuild their lives in a stable, supported environment. Mental health is another critical factor. A significant proportion of those experiencing long-term homelessness are living with untreated or undertreated mental health conditions. For too long, services have been fragmented, allowing people to fall through the cracks. We need a system that is integrated, community based and responsive, one where mental health and addiction supports are delivered together and where intervention happens early rather than at a crisis point. We must continue to increase housing supply across the social, affordable and private sectors. That is essential, but it is not sufficient on its own. If we are serious about reducing homelessness, we must match increased supply with deeper supports tackling addiction, improving mental health services and ensuring that no one is left behind by a system that is meant to support them. Homelessness is a challenge we can address with the right investment and the right determination and it behoves us all to try to do that. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-15/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-15