Speaking in the Dáil yesterday (23 September), Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Dessie Ellis, said the government must "act now" in order to stop the rise in homelessness.
Deputy Ellis said: "Sinn Fein has put forward this motion as a means to draw attention to the crisis in social housing but more particularly to draw attention to its causes and the obvious solutions to that crisis.
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"To say the solutions are obvious is not to say they are easy. They are expensive and they require dedication and political will. They require that the government decide that the social good and the public interest come first. To condemn a child to deprivation or a family to homelessness is far more costly than to give them a home.
"Our proposals include an additional 6,600 homes which the state could build through local authorities for social housing. This could be done by investing €1bn from the Strategic Investment Fund.
"The construction of these 6,600 homes would create thousands of jobs. It would generate increased VAT and income tax revenue. It would increase local authority rent revenues and stabilise private rents by decreasing demand. But most importantly it would allow thousands of people to live with dignity. This could draw savings of about €148m over the next five years from Rent Supplement."
(CD/JP)
