Pages 26 and 27 of the programme for Government contain a series of commitments to tackle the homelessness crisis. Obviously having accurate data for the numbers of people in emergency accommodation is vital to track the progress or otherwise of these commitments. On Monday the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government alleged that local authorities had wrongly included 600 people in their homeless person figures. However, it now appears that none of the people in question is in private rented accommodation or a council tenancy and they are all in emergency or temporary accommodation. Will the Minister explain why, on his instructions, councils were told to remove homeless families from the March report? Is this not a case of deliberately manipulating the figures? Will the Minister apologise to homeless families for treating them in this way and give a commitment to publish updated and accurate figures for March as a matter of urgency?

On the same subject, as Deputy Eoin Ó Broin said, the Minister for Planning, Community and Local Government instructed Louth County Council to remove 100 households, including 32 children, from its homeless person figures, despite the fact that they were living in temporary or emergency accommodation because they were homeless. The county council still considers these individuals and families to be homeless. How low will the Minister go to conceal the true extent of the homelessness and housing crisis? There are 4,500 people on the housing waiting list in County Louth, but there are land banks lying barren and bereft of any social or affordable housing. If the Minister put as much effort into funding the roll-out of a proper social and affordable housing building programme as he does into concealing, hiding and covering up the figures for homeless persons, he would not have to stoop so low in the future.

We must move on. A brief response from the Minister, please.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

I have a direct question for the Tánaiste.

Please, Deputy.

Does the Tánaiste stand over the Minister's tactics of concealment and cover-up of homeless persons figures?

I have been more than fair. The Tánaiste has delegated to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

Does he stand over the Minister's tactics?

The Deputy cannot continue talking. I will finish questions on promised legislation now, if she wishes. The Minister has been delegated to respond by the Tánaiste.

This is a bizarre intervention by Sinn Féin. The mask might be slipping in that it is now trying to politicise the homelessness crisis.

So desperate is it to see the numbers go up that it thinks we should be counting people who are not living in emergency accommodation as homeless.

Where are they?

We encountered an error-----

Where are they? They are living in emergency accommodation.

They are not.

They are.

No, they are not living in hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, hubs or hostels.

The love-in is over.

In some instances, they are living in private rented accommodation.

On a temporary basis.

Short term-----

They never went into homelessness.

They are living in emergency accommodation.

We cannot have a debate on the matter.

This is shameful.

We will move on. Deputy Michael Collins is next.

This is deliberation manipulation by Sinn Féin-----

Unless the Minister gets a hearing, we will move on to Deputy Michael Collins.

This is disgraceful. The Minister is deliberately misleading the House.

Is he saying to the families in question and their children that they are not homeless?

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

The Deputies must give the Minister a hearing.

The Minister is doing a disservice-----

No, it is Sinn Féin that is doing a disservice to homeless persons-----

If Deputies do not give the Minister a hearing, it is not possible-----

It is Sinn Féin that is doing a disservice. We have to focus on the people living in emergency accommodation who need our help, people who are sleeping rough on the streets-----

They are living in emergency accommodation.

They are and the Government-----

No, they are not. In some instances, they are living in private rented accommodation. They never went into homelessness.

It is shocking.

We should not count them as being homeless because it does a disservice to those who actually are homeless. That is where our focus should be, not on Sinn Féin's political antics.

Shame on the Minister.