Homelessness: Statements (Resumed) Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Garret Ahearn (FG), Administrative Panel I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank him for coming in again to conclude this important debate on homelessness. As Senator Flaherty said, I think it is agreed by everyone in both Houses that homelessness can only be solved by building more houses. That is just a fact. The figures for 2025 were very much welcomed and we obviously have targets to hit over the next four years and the lifetime of this Government. I have no doubt that the work the Minister's Department is doing is to achieve those targets and hopefully go beyond them. Certainly, last year's figures were quite positive and give us positivity going forward. There was good progress on social and affordable accommodation, which is extremely important for what we are talking about. There was good progress on cost rental, with 6,000 houses. That cost rental provides accommodation for people at a value 25% below the market value, which gives people much more options and flexibility in regard to where they live. We want to see that ramped up; the Minister does too, I am sure. Again, 6,000 houses is quite significant. As the Minister himself knows, we see the monthly figures of homelessness increase and it is upsetting. It is almost a stick that is thrown at the Government sometimes when you see social media posts and protests. Homelessness is always talked about and that there are 15,000 to 17,000 in homelessness. It is portrayed as 16,000 or 17,000 Irish people who are homeless. It does not matter whether it is Irish or non-Irish; it is not right and we want to house everyone. However, it is not a true reflection of the situation. It does not take into account the increased population from inward migration and people we need to protect and support. I think 40% of that figure, or just over 40%, are Irish citizens who are in emergency accommodation but obviously we want to support everyone. On a personal level - and I am sure the Minister is the same - it is incredibly upsetting when you see children and families in emergency accommodation, whether that is families with one single mother or families with two parents. The fact there are children in emergency accommodation is incredibly upsetting. It is why, when the action plan was announced in November, it was really welcome that child and family homelessness was prioritised in that action plan. I know the Minister launched a public consultation - in January, I think it was - on that child and family homelessness action plan. I think the consultation finished in February. Seeing as the Minister is in the Chamber today, will he outline in his response where that is at the moment? I know the action plan is meant to be completed by quarter 2 of 2026. We have started that and we are not near the end of quarter 2 of 2026, obviously. The consultation finished in February. In my view, it is one of the most critical parts of that action plan for homelessness. What has the Department been doing since the public consultation finished in February? I have been keeping an eye on it since the announcement in November but, since February, I have not seen too much happening. I am sure there is something happening behind the scenes but I certainly have not seen what progress has happened since February. Will the Minister outline what has been done in the Department since that public consultation closed because it has been six months since the announcement of the action plan. Every month, we see the figures increase. Every month, we see more children in emergency accommodation. We always have deadline figures of things to meet but, for this, it is critical that we have it completed by 2026. Obviously, it needs to be expedited, it needs to be prioritised and there need to be targeted measures in that space. I am sure the Minister, his Department and Cabinet are doing everything to try to improve the national figures of homelessness, but particularly, from a personal point of view, child homelessness needs to be prioritised. I welcome that was part of the announcement in November but we are six months on and we really need to see that being delivered and progressed by the Department. I am interested to hear the Minister's response on 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/2026-04-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-22