Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the officials from the Department. I am not sure if they got to hear the earlier session, but there is broad acceptance and support for primary legislation. There is not any dispute on that. It is recognised that legislation is required and that social housing should be provided on a long-term, permanent basis and that emergency accommodation and shelter must be provided to those who need it, based on their need. I think we have a common understanding of all of that.

In terms of the criticisms of or concerns around the legislation as it stands, putting it in primary legislation in the way that it is currently worded will serve to deny shelter to people who need access to emergency accommodation. It would have a direct and immediate impact on people seeking emergency accommodation in a negative way. I would like a response to that.

It has also been asserted that the legislation as currently drafted is not consistent with EU law or with human rights law. Again, that is a very significant concern that this committee needs to address. Relevant stakeholders, who advocate on behalf of marginalised migrant groups, were not consulted. The opening statement references the Attorney General and the advisory council but it does not reference any broader public consultation, so I ask if the witnesses could speak to that.

Finally, there is a question about the size of the problem that the primary legislation is seeking to address. I do not know if the witnesses have the data available to them, but does the Department have the current number of applicants on the social housing lists? I appreciate there are 31 local authorities. What is the Department's estimate of how many of those applicants would not currently meet the residency requirements? I appreciate there are a lot of questions there requiring a response but it would be good were the witnesses to make their way through them systematically.