Governments should be judged by how they treat the most vulnerable in society. After six years in office, Enda Kenny's record speaks for itself. According to the Central Statistics Office, in 2011 there were 641 homeless children but, last month, 2,563 children slept in emergency accommodation funded by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. That is a 300% increase. These figures do not include children in Tusla-funded domestic violence emergency accommodation or the children of hundreds of families trapped in direct provision after getting their leave to remain or children in emergency accommodation funded by the new communities unit. In fact, the Government has no idea how many children will sleep in emergency accommodation tonight.

There are 183,000 vacant homes across the State, 40,000 in Dublin alone. That is 24 vacant homes for every single adult and child in emergency accommodation. That is Enda Kenny's legacy. He put the rights of the child into the Constitution and he put thousands of children into emergency accommodation. His would-be successor, Deputy Coveney, has been Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government for a year and, contrary to what the Tánaiste said, since taking office child homelessness has increased by 20%. Every single month Deputy Coveney has held office, the number of people in emergency accommodation has increased. Also during his tenure, the length of time children are spending in emergency accommodation has grown ever longer. Last year, before he took office, the average time was 12 months but today it is 24 months. Can the Tánaiste imagine one of her own children or her grandchildren spending two long years in a hotel?

To make matters worse, people are now expected to find their own emergency accommodation and 200 families are being forced by Deputy Coveney to self-accommodate on a night-to-night basis, shunted from one end of the city to another and not knowing if, tomorrow night, they will be forced to sleep on the streets. We might have thought things could not get any worse but now it emerges that homeless families are being forced to sleep in Garda stations, and Deputy Cowen outlined what happened on Tuesday night in this respect. How can the Tánaiste stand over this? How can the Government stand over what is effectively the abuse of thousands of children?

Does the Tánaiste believe that the current situation is acceptable? Will she admit that the Government's response to the crisis of homeless families is failing? Will the Government release emergency funds to allow local authorities to acquire homes to ensure that no child is left in emergency accommodation for more than six months?

All Members are aware of the scale of the challenge in terms of supply of housing and the reasons we are in this situation. The Government has recognised this challenge and has taken every action to ensure that the people of whom the Deputy speaks are provided with appropriate homes as quickly as possible. The most recent homeless figures are a reminder of the challenge we face in dealing with this problem. Dealing with the challenge head on is what the Government has done. Luckily, as the economy has improved due to careful and appropriate management, we are in a position to help the people of whom the Deputy speaks. Rebuilding Ireland has allocated €5.3 billion to the provision of 47,000 social homes. The Government has recognised the seriousness of the situation outlined by Deputy Ó Broin. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, has particular responsibility for the issue. The biggest budget ever allocated to dealing with these issues has been approved. A range of social supports are being put into place to help the children of whom the Deputy speaks. Significant additional resources have been allocated. In budget 2017, approximately €100 million was allocated to homeless services. Nobody wants to see the situation described by the Deputy. That is why we have prioritised dealing with it and that is why more houses are coming on stream and the rapid builds are developing and will deliver homes for people. Over 3,000 households exited homelessness in 2016, which is the highest level ever. This year, there is a much higher level of response and aspiration to deal with the issue. As I have said, the Government is working on its commitment to exit homeless families from hotels by mid-2017 except in exceptional circumstances. A very broad range of actions, including dealing with vacant properties across the country, are being taken by every local authority. The housing assistance payment is providing help to families to exit homelessness. Multiple initiatives have been taken because we recognise the seriousness of the situation. However, we are coming from a position where there was no new housing supply for several years and no money to pay for it. That has now changed.

It is strange that the problem has increased by 300% during the Tánaiste's time in office as a consequence of the Government prioritising tackling it. I understand that she must defend the Government's position. However, given her background in social care and her time as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I can only imagine how this issue makes her feel in private. In some ways, it makes her defence of Government policy failures even more remarkable. As the family homelessness crisis was spiralling out of control in August 2015, the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, stated "If a family becomes homeless in Dublin this evening as a result of being moved out of a B&B, ... the local authority ... will have the resources to supply emergency accommodation for that family." Two years on from that statement, families are being left on the street or in Garda stations. I will once more ask the Tánaiste the question she did not answer the first time: will the Government release emergency funding to allow local authorities to buy homes to ensure that no child spends more than six months in emergency accommodation?

The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, has made it clear repeatedly that local authorities will have support and funding and they have bought many hundreds of houses over the past year. This has been possible because improvements in the economy mean that the budget to do so is available. I have told the Deputy that €5.3 billion has been allocated to the provision of 47,000 social homes. He knows that South Dublin County Council is increasing the supply of housing available by building new homes, renovating homes and dealing with vacant properties.

There is no lack of will. Every effort and every initiative that can be taken-----

Why is the problem getting worse? The Government has failed.

We have a growing population and extra demands. Houses cannot be built overnight.

The Government has had six years.

It has been six years.

All the different initiatives-----

It has been more than six years and people are sleeping in a Garda station.

Everyone wants to see this problem solved.

The Tánaiste will not support a Bill today that is trying to solve the problem. She will not vote for it.

Everyone is working to ensure we take every initiative at national level and local authority level, in conjunction with private landlords, to ensure housing is available. It is a very challenging situation. What happened on Tuesday night is absolutely unacceptable. We do not want to see one family in that situation. I repeat again that Garda stations are certainly not the places for families to be sent. The Garda works closely with the housing agencies, but clearly a Garda station is no place for a family, and I want to assure the House that no families have stayed overnight in any Garda station.