On page 4 of the programme for Government, there is a commitment to end the homelessness crisis. As we heard earlier, almost 10,000 people are recorded as homeless, including 3,755 children. Clearly, the Government is not doing enough to prevent people becoming homeless. In Britain, new legislation comes into force next week to place an obligation on local authorities to step in and assist people at risk of homelessness 56 days before they lose their homes. Will the Government examine this legislation and consider introducing similar proposals here or, if the Opposition tables such legislation, will the Government commit to looking at it positively?

A number of Deputies are indicating on the same matter. I can only call a few.

Has the Government or the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government examined properly the reasons homeless figures continue to soar? The Government's reliance on the private sector to build housing and on the private rented sector is one of the reasons. Non-interference in the private market is a major issue in relation to homeless figures. The unwillingness of the Government to have the State build large quantities of social housing is another reason. The Government does not even have an affordable housing scheme. We need a State company to spearhead the building of social housing. We must also stop the sell-off of housing portfolios to vulture funds and others. It is a scandal that this is allowed to happen while this is going on. Almost 10,000 people are now homeless, of whom 3,755 are children. There are almost 90,000 people on the housing waiting list. This has not changed, rather it has got worse over the past number of years.

I raise the same issue in relation to page 23 of the programme for Government. Homelessness is not just a city issue relating to Dublin and Cork. I note the figures released yesterday for the midlands.

It shows that in a one-week period in February there were 85 adults. There are no figures for the numbers of children. It was mentioned there were 60 dependants.

This Rebuilding Ireland is not working. We all wish it was. The question I have for the Minister is this. On page 23 of the programme for Government, the Minister gave a commitment to put in place a cost rental model. When will we see the cost rental? On page 23, it states they will "initiate an affordable housing scheme." It is badly needed to solve the housing crisis. When will we see that-----

All right.

-----and when will the Minister face up to the fact that we need rent controls in Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath?

If we have to get an answer now with only 38 seconds remaining, we will have to give the Minister a chance.

I thank the Deputies for raising those particular issues.

One of the measures we introduced in the fourth quarter of last year was an obligation for landlords to notify the Residential Tenancies Board when they serve a notice to quit on at-risk tenants so that the local authority can then get involved with those tenants to put in place early solutions to prevent those individuals or families from falling into emergency accommodation. That has proven successful.

I had a homeless person this morning-----

If one looks at the numbers for January and February, almost 300 families were prevented from entering or exited out of emergency accommodation, in roughly a 50:50 split. Therefore, work is being done. Early intervention works where tenants are at risk of falling into emergency accommodation and we will continue to progress that.

We are not relying on the private sector to build social housing homes. Rebuilding Ireland is a €6 billion commitment to bring 50,000 new homes into the social housing stock. What we are trying to achieve is mixed communities into the future. It is not about going out to a greenfield site and building tens of thousands of homes in one place because that would not be in the best interests of those who may live there. It is also not in the best interests of making sure, as we grow our country and as we build new homes, that we have the schools, the transport and the infrastructure in place for those who will live there.

I thank the Minister.

On the private side though, it is important to note that planning permission was given last year for 20,000 new homes to be built in the State, a 27% increase on the previous year.

We do have an affordable housing scheme. Local authorities have identified land and finance for 4,000 affordable homes under the affordable purchase scheme. Our ambition is for 10,000 homes. We are not taking the responsibility for building houses away from local authorities. That said, we are bringing in a new land regeneration and development agency to better co-ordinate the use of State and semi-State land for the building of homes and we are, of course, looking at situations outside of Dublin and Cork when it comes to the increasing number of people who are in homelessness. I have met the European Investment Bank on a cost-rental proposal for Dublin city, which I hope to announce in the coming months, that will involve a dramatic increase in the provision of cost-rental model in this country if it is successful.

We have the rent pressure zones in place. When we look at the quarterly data from last year with one year of their existence in Dublin, we see that rent increases in Dublin have dramatically slowed down. There are particular qualifying criteria for other local authorities to come in to the rent pressure zones-----

That is crazy. We are way beyond that.

The Minister would want to get real.

-----and as those areas meet the criteria, they then come in to the rent pressure zones.