Sinn Fein’s housing spokesman has claimed that handing the housing portfolio to Fianna Fail for another five years would be a “catastrophe”.
Eoin O Broin has accused Fianna Fail of overseeing record house prices, rents and levels of homelessness.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Dublin Mid-West candidate said that homelessness has risen from 3,080 in 2011 when Fine Gael was in government, to 14,790 in the last few months.
“That is an increase of 380%. Under Fianna Fail and Fine Gael’s governments, homelessness and particularly child homelessness has reached levels nobody ever thought was imaginable.
“Since 2011, the number of children officially categorised as homeless has increased from 641 to 4,561. That is a 612% increase. Almost 5,000 children who will have nowhere to put up a Christmas tree come December 25.
We cannot afford another five years of Fianna Fáil in charge of housing.
— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) November 25, 2024
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“Since Fianna Fail and (housing minister) Darragh O’Brien took over the housing portfolio, homelessness has continued to rise, almost month on month outside of Covid.
Mr O Broin added: “Homelessness among adults is up 69% and child homelessness is up a staggering 72%.
“There have never been as many adults, children, families and singles and pensioners in emergency accommodation since contemporary records began.
“This is at a time when there are tens of thousands of vacant homes across the state. This is at a time when government has billions of euros in revenue surpluses each year.
“It means that situation is an absolute scandal and it is totally and utterly unacceptable.
“In our plan, Sinn Fein has set out clearly how we can end long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough by 2030.
“That date is important because it is a date agreed by countries across Europe and was a Lisbon declaration which this government has signed up to but if they get back into power they certainly won’t meet.”
Fianna Fail in particular, have presided over not just record house prices and rents, but levels of homelessness we never thought possible
Mr O Broin continued: “The idea that Fianna Fail should be let anywhere near the housing portfolio for the next five years is not only untenable, but in fact, would be an absolute catastrophe.
“Fianna Fail in particular, have presided over not just record house prices and rents, but levels of homelessness we never thought possible.”
Louise O’Reilly, who is standing in Dublin Fingal, said: “I share a constituency with the Minister for Housing.
“He doesn’t deal directly with individual housing and homelessness cases, they inevitably end up in one of my offices, and we do all that we can to try to help.
“But on the one hand, we have a minister who is not involved or active in his own constituency, where levels of homelessness are quite shocking.
“Then on the other hand, the same minister is telling my constituents that 565,000 euros constitutes an affordable home.
“The profile of homelessness in my constituency is quite shocking.
“It ranges from single men who can’t get accommodation, maybe don’t want to come into the city centre, right up to mothers who leave their kids sleeping at their friends, and then tell their friend I’m going to go and stay with another friend and then she (Fingal constituent) sleeps in her car.
“I have spoken to her several times, and again, she is afraid.
“She doesn’t want to leave the area where she is living.
“That is the lived reality, and having served the constituency for almost nine years, that every single year it gets worse, the cases are tragic and heartbreaking, and we have the plan to be able to end long-term homelessness.”
