Does the Taoiseach agree there is no more pressing issue in this country than the housing crisis? Will he and the Government now come out with their hands up and declare it a national emergency? If he does not make that simple admission, the type of emergency measures we need will never be taken. There are homeless women and men in the Visitors Gallery today who have come in hope that the leader of this country may display a modicum of urgency about the homeless nightmare into which they and thousands like them have been plunged. Their children are traumatised with serious physical and psychological effects, travelling miles to school from far-flung hotels and hostels and are unable to get healthy food and so on. The Taoiseach shed a tear for the Magdalens. These are the Magdalens of this generation and in years to come, the Taoiseach will be held to account for his action on homelessness.

Let us confine ourselves to family homelessness. The families that are here today would never ordinarily be homeless. In any other decade, they would be in council or affordable housing, but that has been slashed in recent years. The Government keeps telling us that it is spending more on housing than anyone ever spent before. Last week it told the Dáil €4 billion was being invested. However, that €4 billion is to be spent over six years. We need €4 billion in one year to deal with the issue. Does the Taoiseach agree this does not sound like much of an investment for an emergency when we look at the figures? Some 20 council homes were completed in the first quarter of 2015 and some 117 completed by housing associations. If this level of building continues for the year, we will have less than 500 social homes this year.

Has the Deputy a question, please?

In 1975, the last housing emergency, some 8,794 local authority homes were built. Why, therefore, in the middle of a housing crisis did the Taoiseach see fit to reduce the social housing obligation on private developers, from 20% to 10%? Why, in the middle of a housing and homeless crisis, is he allowing NAMA to sell off hoards of property at a massive discount? Why is he allowing the biggest construction operation in the world not to come into play to provide social and affordable housing? Will he do so or will NAMA continue as a form of corporate welfare to nurse the dysfunctional developers, the people who crashed the economy in the first place, back into business? Will the Taoiseach order that the proceeds of NAMA sales from shopping centres, hotels and office blocks now be used for social and affordable housing?

The Deputy has raised a number of issues. The remit of NAMA is to make and return a profit to the Irish taxpayer. While NAMA was expected to end its responsibilities by 2020, it may have finished its remit some time before that. As I said, that remit is to return a profit, where possible, for the Irish taxpayer.

The Deputy said €4 billion is required now. As we meet here, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is meeting with all the chief executives of all the local authorities around the country. They have been given their money and given their targets and objectives and told to get on with the job.

That is rubbish.

We cannot deal with homelessness in this form or any other form until we provide more houses on the ground, block, concrete or modular homes.

Yes, four and a half years after taking up office.

Allow the Taoiseach to explain the situation.

The Minister has already given an instruction that in regard to social housing, 50% of the allocation should go to homeless people. This year in Dublin, 765 units or apartments that have been neglected or closed up are being renovated and made fit for families and individuals. Dublin was given €37 million last year to deal with homelessness. By August of this year, €33 million of that had been spent. Why is this happening? It is happening because people are unable to pay their rent or they have moved out

We know that. What is the Taoiseach going to do about it?

Please settle down.

We need more buildings on the ground. In the private housing sector, we have a situation where good contractors who want to start building are being charged a €60,000 or €70,000 development levy per site. They will not start those houses because of the restraints on loans and mortgages by the Central Bank.

It is because they cannot make enough profit.

We cannot expect taxpayers to make up the difference between what some contractors paid for land at extraordinary prices and what it is now worth.

We cannot expect the taxpayer make good on that. This is not a question of availability of money now.

Build on State land.

It is a case of being able to move to a point where the social housing targets set by the Government for each local authority are implemented and that the relevant houses are built.

They have not even met them for this year.

It is all for private landlords.

They are not shovel ready.

Second, in respect of rent supplement, as I said yesterday, people, and families in particular - I sympathise and empathise with the Deputy in this regard - are entitled to support today, this evening and tomorrow from the Department of Social Protection in respect of an increase in rent supplement to give them some certainty regarding their continued tenancy of the houses in which they live at present.

What about the cap on rent supplement?

These are important elements that are not isolated. They have all got to work together and we cannot deal with it until more houses are provided.

No, they cannot.

They cannot deal with it anyway.

They should call a national emergency.

This year, those targets are set and the Minister is meeting with them this morning to see that they live up to their responsibilities and get on with the job.

Oh, yes. Their heads will roll.

It is their fault. Sure, the Government left them short money.

Blame someone else.

They received taxpayers' money to do this and the should be following through on it now.

If the Taoiseach knows of local authorities which are sitting on money he has given to them for housing-----

Yes.

-----he should sack the managers of those authorities. He knows that is not true. If any councils had the funding to build social houses - which they have done before - they would do it.

The Taoiseach says that NAMA's remit is to return money to the taxpayer. It is not - NAMA's remit is to return money to the banks. While it expects to recoup €1 billion for the taxpayer, it will give €12 billion back to the banks at the same time. What the Government does have from NAMA, though, is a €3 billion fund for development. I understand it will be invested in the docklands. That €3 billion should be used to build social and affordable housing.

Could you put your question, please, Deputy Coppinger?

Would the Taoiseach agree that the €1.8 billion from the sale of Dundrum and other shopping centres yesterday could build 15,000 to 18,000 homes? Instead, what he is promising the people in the Visitors Gallery is modular homes - portakabins - which they know will become a permanent fixture, just like the hotels which he told them were only for short-term use. They have been in them for between ten months and one year.

When people hear what the Taoiseach has to say about NAMA, and see that he leaves it untouched while they languish in hotels and hostels, would he agree that they are now perfectly entitled to stage occupations of NAMA houses and vacant houses? Would he, as I do, call on people to stage a day of action for homes and would he look at the Facebook page for that?

Thank you, Deputy. You are over time.

We took part in the occupation of a NAMA house last week and it seems that is the only thing the Taoiseach knows - protest - because he is not listening to the rational arguments of people here today.

I do not accept Deputy Coppinger's comments at all. The situation is that the Government responded last autumn and winter to a serious situation in this city in respect of homeless people, particularly those who were sleeping rough.

It has become worse.

It has doubled since then. That is the truth.

I pointed out yesterday the action that was taken by the Government.

Craig is still on the beach in Killiney along with seven or eight other people.

The money that was put up and the consequence thereof - night cafes, extra beds, money to different agencies and all the rest of it-----

I asked the Taoiseach to consider families.

-----dealt, by and large, with the vast majority of people sleeping rough who wanted a bed for the night. Speaking to some of them myself, they said they would not go into hostels because they might be attacked, beaten up or whatever. These are not simple cases. The Deputy mentioned families and I empathise completely with her in this regard. Housing men, women and their children, some in bed and breakfasts and some in hotel rooms, is not satisfactory.

They do not want that. They want a home.

I ask the Deputy to imagine if a local authority official said to someone, "I am going to provide you with a social house at address X and number Y. The money has been given to the contractors and building is about to start. It will take 18 months to two years to do all of that."

It would take four years.

"In the meantime, I am prepared to give you one of the proposed 500 modular houses for you and your family, where it is your own space."

Do they not need planning?

"They are comfortable, warm, insulated and have a life span of 50 years, and I will give it to you until such time as your social house is built." Would the Deputy not advise a family in those circumstance that, compared to being in a bed and breakfast or hotel room, they would be much better off to have their own space for that period until their social house is built?

They would be better off in a house.

All of these things I have mentioned, modular homes, the social housing targets, the money that is in place, the €37 million given to Dublin City Council - €23 million of which was spent up to August - to deal with these very issues-----

There are 2,600 vacant homes.

-----thee Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and his Minister of State are very conscious of them. As I said, there was a meeting this morning with the chief executives of all the local authorities to see that they are following through on meeting the targets that were set down.

They are all paralysed.