Mark Daly, An Cathaoirleach: As the vote in the Dáil has now concluded, we are back to statements on homelessness. The Minister of State is most welcome to Seanad Éireann. The debate will take the normal pattern. The Minister of State will speak for ten minutes followed by group spokespersons for eight minutes. All other Senators have four minutes and the Minister will reply in or around 6.20 p.m.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan): It is an honour to be in the Seanad today to talk about such an incredibly important issue, that is, homelessness in Ireland. I will set out the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, which is building on the progress made in recent years to increase housing delivery across the board and social housing, in particular. The Minister, Deputy Browne, will conclude today’s discussion by outlining the many actions in the new housing plan that are targeted at ending homelessness.

The Government is acutely aware that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face and of the impact that experiences of homelessness have on households and children, in particular. With this in mind, the programme for Government and the new housing plan reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to working towards ending homelessness by 2030. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. Last year saw the highest number of homes completed in more than a decade at more than 36,000. Delivering homes, building communities builds on the achievements and progress already made under Housing for All to further accelerate housing delivery. The key difference between Housing for All and this plan is a greater emphasis on creating the environment for more homes. To deliver more homes at speed, the State will indeed do more but this plan will also empower others, particularly the private sector, to play their part.

A significantly greater supply of housing can be achieved through a balanced approach focused on both directly supporting people to have a home of their own but also creating the best possible conditions for the industry to build and activate more homes. This new plan commits to the building of 300,000 new homes. By the end of 2030, there will be 72,000 additional new build social homes built for those in our society that need them most. Our goal remains a housing system that truly serves the needs of our people. This is why we are committed to also providing 90,000 affordable housing supports. Delivering homes, building communities is ambitious, but the Government is fully committed to making it a reality. This is an integrated housing and homelessness plan that reaffirms the whole-of-government approach to addressing the housing crisis. It will ensure that the funding and strategies deployed to address housing and homelessness are fully aligned at all times.

Direct funding for housing is at record levels. In 2026 alone, over €9 billion in capital funding will be provided through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency. A supply of housing and accommodation, in particular social, as well as affordable and private, remains the essential solution to addressing the challenges of homelessness and precarious living conditions in the longer term. A total of 36,284 new dwellings were completed in 2025. This represents a 20.4% increase on the same period in the previous year. This marks the highest number of completions recorded in any given year since the CSO began recording this data series in 2011. In 2025, a total of 9,089 new build social homes were constructed. This is the highest delivery level on record. It is an increase of 1,256 homes, or a 16% increase, compared to 2024. Over 42,000 new build social homes have been delivered between 2022 and 2025. The latest figures show that 3,423 new homes were commenced in February of this year, an increase of 232% compared to the same period last year. Combined with January’s figures, 5,469 new homes have commenced since the start of the year, an increase of 147% on the 2,214 units commenced during the same period in 2025. To put things in a clearer perspective, across 2024 and 2025 combined, a total of 85,723 units were commenced. This represents an increase of 43% compared with the combined total for the previous two-year period....

... Senator Aubrey McCarthy: I thank the Minister of State for being here. In 2016, I was asked to present to the Oireachtas housing and homelessness committee, as it was back then. It was long before I knew what a Senator was and long before I became one, but I tried to make a difference in the area of marginalisation and homelessness, and I helped to set up an organisation called Tiglin. We were asked to appear before the housing committee and we spoke to the then Minister, Simon Coveney, who gave an undertaking that homelessness would be eradicated by 2020. Homelessness and emergency accommodation numbers at the time were around 6,000. Now, ten years later, and this is not to criticise anybody but just to say, we are at nearly three times that level in emergency accommodation. We have over 17,000 homeless people now, with more than 5,500 of those being children.

When I entered this House last March, there were 15,286 people in emergency accommodation and I wrote it on my whiteboard. I thought, "Let us see that number coming down." Now, I get the numbers - I see Ailbhe Conneely from RTÉ putting them up - and I go "Oh no, this is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of negativity and we are losing a generation." The numbers are nearly losing their meaning, so we have to be careful of that. Behind these numbers are children who are growing up in hotel rooms, doing their homework in bathrooms and who have no kitchen.

It is not just homelessness here. We are losing out with a lot of childhoods being compromised. There is the potential to stunt growth before it even begins. Recently at the Lighthouse, our homeless cafe on Pearse Street where I usually do Thursday evenings, a family came in who were living on Gardiner Street. They are in a family hub. They had a social house, but the father had complex needs, and he fell behind with the rent. The rent arrears were approximately €14,000, which cannot be allowed either. The father, mother and two children were made homeless. The young guy came in with his mother and they were looking for food and I got talking to him. He wanted to be a basketball player. He plays basketball in Tallaght and that is his dream. Unfortunately, he is now living in the hub in Gardiner Street but is commuting to play basketball. Surely to goodness there is a better way and a better solution. I have met and sat with these families. I have seen children trying to grow up like that. We are failing them today and I certainly feel we are shaping their future.

I mentioned I was at Tiglin at lunchtime. The reality we encounter on the front line is that some people are working but cannot afford to pay rent and eat so they are taking advantage of the food circumstances. We also have the residential supported housing, which is vital for people with a dual diagnosis of mental health issues, addiction, etc. The report today by Ailbhe Conneely on RTÉ highlights the number of deaths among homeless people. In 2022, 124 people died. That is slightly down from 133 in 2021 but these are people who have died alone on the streets. That also shows that too many people are falling through the cracks, particularly those with dual diagnosis where it is a housing issue, a health issue and an addiction issue. However, none of those services are joined up and they have to be. Ailbhe Conneely's report shows that we have to reflect on the figures and ask what is going wrong. Everybody should have the opportunity to access recovery, stability, housing and be supported. I have also seen the good side of the Lighthouse where we feed up to 500 people per day....

The Simon Community’s report was also released yesterday. It was all about how single adults, mainly males, are falling through the cracks. It is impossible to get accommodation. One-bedroom apartments are not being built. A lot of people on the Simon Community’s report did not come into the system the way we might think. They came through broken marriages and failed job opportunities, etc. It amounts to over 3,000 in a year, according to that report. A lot of those people are in accommodation for over a year, yet it is emergency accommodation. Emergency should be short term, but this is not emergency. It is long term. They are stuck there. HAP is not working for many. Yesterday I got an email from a guy who is entitled to HAP. However, the HAP amount he is being given will not get him anywhere in his area. It is impossible, so he is in a hostel and stuck in limbo. It is a complex situation. From my situation of dealing with people going into rehab, we get people off the streets who have addiction issues. We get them into rehab and try to get them sober. Then, where do we send them? We cannot send them back to where they got sick in the first place. We try to do supported housing. The supported housing we have is temporary and is a year. Now that is clogged up because we have nowhere to send them afterwards. When I see 17,000 homeless people in a country our size with the resources we have. I think this is a problem that should not be too hard to solve. We took in over 120,000 Ukrainians and we did it with the click of a finger because we all got together with joined-up thinking. That same co-ordination is needed today.

What do we need to do? We need more social housing. We also need more one-bed homes. I am involved in Bluebell Community Council. We are doing one-bed housing over there. We also need services that work together like mental health, addiction and homeless supports. If we act properly and get that together, we will look back in years to come and say that the Minister, Deputy Browne, was one of the most successful housing Ministers ever. We do not want to lose a generation and that is what we are doing. I certainly do not want to be here in ten years listening to the increasing homeless numbers. Not only do we need to give these people a roof, but we need to give them a real chance like Jay Bobinac who was in the Merrion Hotel a couple of weeks ago.....