Yesterday, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government released the State's latest homelessness figures. Last month, 6,358 people were living in emergency accommodation, a shocking 2,206 of whom were children. Child homelessness has increased by over 70% in the past 12 months. Children are sleeping night after night in cramped hotels or unsuitable hostels. These figures do not include those who are living in overcrowded housing, sleeping on someone else's floor or sofa or those waiting for emergency accommodation.

Why are these people homeless? It is not an accident or an act of nature. Rather, it is because the Government and Fianna Fáil before it failed to build social housing, tackle spiralling rents and help those in mortgage distress. The Government ignored all the warnings about this pending crisis when Sinn Féin and others brought it to its attention.

Yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, launched his action plan for housing and homelessness. It has some merit, and Sinn Féin has welcomed its positive elements. Clearly, the Minister is making a genuine effort to tackle the housing crisis, but it is results that count. The Minister, like the Taoiseach, seems restrained by an ideological reliance on the market.

What is not in the plan is as important as what is. Crucially, it fails to address the most urgent aspects of the crisis. It is not ambitious enough and not enough social housing will be built. Gone is the dedicated court to tackle mortgage distress promised in the programme for Government. There are no proposals to tackle spiralling rents. Crucially, it commits a mere €150 million in extra capital spending for social housing next year. At the very best, that will deliver an extra 833 social houses next year.

Whatever the longer-term impact of this plan, one thing is very clear. Those in need of housing today, those sleeping in emergency accommodation tonight and those who will struggle to pay their rent at the end of the month are offered very little comfort by this plan.

Why did the Government ignore the Committee on Housing and Homelessness which called for a moratorium on home repossessions? The committee included members of the Taoiseach's party. Why is he walking away from the programme for Government commitments to help families in mortgage distress to stay in their homes? If they are forced out of their homes, that will make the crisis even worse.

Why did the Taoiseach ignore the call of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness for the introduction of rent certainty, linking rent to the consumer price index? Why is the Taoiseach once again refusing to invest enough money in social housing to build and buy the homes so desperately needed by children living in emergency accommodation?

Deputy Adams is well aware that what happened in this country over quite a long number of years left us in a position whereby we had neither the money nor the capacity to build what was needed in terms of affordable and social housing and to deal with the rising challenge of homelessness. It is a complex issue.

The Government spent quite an extensive period of time putting together all of the elements that relate to housing, be they homelessness, social and affordable housing, mortgage arrears, renters, voided dwellings and houses that are not in use for whatever reason. All of these factors have been included in the action plan for housing, the first chapter of which deals with homelessness. As Deputy Adams knows, the reasons for homelessness are not as simplistic as statistics might suggest. There are stories behind each of the cases of homelessness that the Government wants to address.

That is why, as the Minister, Deputy Coveney, pointed out yesterday, the detail of the first chapter of the action programme deals specifically with homelessness. We know from the report of the housing authority that 4,152 adults used State funded emergency accommodation nationally during one week in June 2016. That survey identified 1,078 families in emergency accommodation, consisting of 1,457 adults and 2,206 dependents. The number of homeless families increased from 620 in June 2015, a 74% increase, while the dependent figures increased by 67% and were 1,318 last May. Details of homeless families have been recorded since July 2014 when a total of 344 families with 749 dependents were homeless.

It is the recognition of these kinds of statistics that have brought about the significant investment by the Government. The challenge is to prove that the action plan works and will be implemented. That is why 47,000 social units are envisaged, with a spend of €5.3 billion to deal with this issue in a comprehensive way. Social units alone will not solve the problem. Rather, we will provide opportunities for those who are homeless to be housed with quick build and rapid build solutions, voided solutions, repairing houses, the acquisition of houses that are empty and, as the Deputy said, the opportunity to deal with mortgages. Significant numbers of previously distressed mortgagees are now paying their way.

The Minister for Justice and Equality will introduce a new service in respect of MABS for the thousands of cases - I understand the total is 35,000 - where there has been no communication between borrowers and lenders for whatever reason. We need to be able to deal with that in a different format rather than people receiving formal notices from banks. There is a solution to these problems, but they need to be worked on.

In respect of the discussion that took place yesterday and will take place again tomorrow, the challenge for the Government and everybody else is to make this work. I commended Deputy Curran and the Committee on Housing and Homelessness. The Government did not accept all of the recommendations, but a special appendix was inserted which dealt with each of the proposals made by the committee, which we welcomed. Not all of them were accepted, but they were commented upon favourably.

We agree on one thing, namely, that the housing crisis did not start yesterday but has been a long time in the making. It started when this and previous Governments reneged on the State's responsibility to provide homes for citizens. That is the crucial element to all of this.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach tried to blame local councils for the lack of social housing, yet the Government has failed to provide sufficient funding to allow councils to build and buy houses. He is still not providing sufficient funding. The plan promises to meet the needs of 131,000 families over six years, but 94,000 will remain in the private rental sector and will be subsidised by the State through HAP, RAS and leasing. How is that not an over-reliance on the private sector, guided not by housing need but rather by the ideological position of the Government?

The Taoiseach commended the Committee on Housing and Homelessness - it is the most commended committee in the Dáil. A lot of nonsense is talked about new politics. The Taoiseach did not take on board some of the major findings and recommendations of the committee. The number one priority recommendation of the committee was to increase the housing stock by 10,000 units per year every year. The Government's proposal falls 40% short of this. Government Deputies signed up to the plan. The Taoiseach has ignored this issue.

He also ignored my other questions. I asked the Taoiseach to tell me why the plan falls 40% short of the number one priority recommendation of the committee.

I do not accept the assertions of Deputy Adams. He is well aware that in the so-called boom times up to 90,000 houses were built per year, and the figures collapsed to fewer than 10,000. This is the most comprehensive and significant investment in the history of the State in terms of dealing with construction, housing and homelessness. The plan also includes mortgages, renters, voided units, ghost estates and so on.

This is a genuine attempt, taking into account the views right across the spectrum, of the Government to drive this process so that people can have a home and a roof over their head, so that they do not have to be in bed and breakfasts or hotel rooms and so that those who are on the streets are looked after, but also there is an opportunity to provide affordable houses for those who need them and opportunities for local authorities to deal with the situation.

I served on a council myself many years ago and at that stage it was building more houses than were required both in isolated areas and in towns, but councils lost the ability to provide houses in numbers for people. Housing associations do a good job, but it is about time county councils got back into the business of providing houses. They have been given the money, the opportunities and the incentives to open sites that are currently off limits, and they must get on with the job. This is a challenge for everybody. It is a real priority for the Government. This is the biggest investment in the history of the State in this area.

The Taoiseach said that in 2014.

I intend that it will work and be seen to work.

The Taoiseach did not give them money.

Order, please. I call Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan.

In May 2015 my-----

The Taoiseach did not give them the money.

I assure Deputy Danny Healy-Rae that there is more money than there has ever been before. Your machines will all be busy.

Could we have some respect for Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan, please? I ask her to start again.