A year ago this week the Taoiseach took office and told us of his vision of a republic of opportunities. That anniversary coincides with a visit from the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, Ms Leilani Farha. Ms Farha had one clear message, which is that Ireland is failing abysmally when it comes to housing. The Taoiseach speaks of the republic of opportunities but this morning, the Ombudsman for Children speaks of thousands of children being denied the most basic opportunities. The ombudsman described the position of almost 10,000 people in emergency accommodation, saying it was "shameful", which it is of course.

There are no opportunities for those struggling to keep a roof over their head and there are certainly no opportunities for those with no roof over their head. It is all about survival. I have no doubt the Taoiseach will point to the Rebuilding Ireland report but Ms Farha clearly pointed out the lack of a coherent housing strategy. The evidence of this has been stark and in the past four years alone, just 818 local authority were built, with 396 of those last year. This happens because Fine Gael's ideology is to focus most of its efforts on the private market approach.

A housing seminar hosted by the Simon Communities on Monday heard that, in total, the State had transferred over €1 billion to private landlords in housing supports. This is not a housing strategy but is a market-led approach designed to put the State at arm's distance from responsibility. We have not enshrined the right to housing either constitutionally or legislatively. It is not a far-fetched concept as 81 other countries have adopted the concept of a right to housing. It does not mean that everyone could demand a house but rather that the State would be obliged to create strategies that would develop housing in a way that ensures affordable and accessible opportunities available to all. It would change the narrative and the focus. Instead of housing being viewed as a commodity, the Government would recommend housing first and foremost as a home. This is not pie in the sky and Ms Farha is able to point to real working examples in countries and cities that have jumped on board with her recommendations. Barcelona is foremost among these with the Barcelona manifesto. Ms Farha has also worked in Portugal, which has implemented housing strategies that aim to eradicate homelessness by 2028. Meanwhile, we are continuing a path that has proven not only to be ineffective but damaging.

Does the Taoiseach accept that in the year since he took office, homelessness has worsened and housing has become increasingly inaccessible and unaffordable to both renters and potential purchasers? Has the Taoiseach considered a constitutional or statutory obligation for housing that may be necessary to address what is an unprecedented housing crisis in the country? Will he consider extending a formal State invitation to Ms Farha to visit in an official capacity and work with the Government to develop strategies that will prioritise the delivery of adequate and affordable housing for all?

It is a year tomorrow since my election as Taoiseach.

Where is the party?

I am not one for anniversaries or birthdays. I am known to forget them or very often decline to celebrate them.

That is sad.

The important milestones are not those which appear on a calendar but rather what is achieved along the way. I am very proud to have been part of a Government in the past year that has successfully brought about a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment and which has at long last ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Answer the question and stop trying to run down the clock.

There is much more to do.

What about the homeless?

It has brought employment to record levels. It has balanced the books, improved living standards and reduced income inequality, poverty and deprivation.

It is the Leo show.

It is an election speech.

He is getting excited.

As the hecklers rightly point out, there is always more to do and housing is one of those particular areas in which there is very much more to do. The Deputy mentioned a legal right to housing and it is currently being considered by the all-party finance committee. I very much have an open mind on this but as the Deputy rightly indicates, 81 countries not only have a statutory right to housing but they have a constitutional right to housing. In many of those countries there are severe housing crises and very serious problems with housing and homelessness. In some cases they are much worse than what we have here. I am sure that a statutory or constitutional right will not build a house for anyone. We need to build more houses and the solution to the problem is increasing housing supply. In the past year the number of planning permission applications increased by 30%, as did the number of commencement notices; 18,000 new homes have commenced construction in the past year.

House prices and rents are also up.

We want to know about social housing.

That is more than any year in the past ten. ESB connections are also up 30% and employment in the construction sector is up 14%.

The Taoiseach should be looking at local authority housing.

All is grand so.

This year we will add between 7,000 and 8,000 new social homes to our social housing stock, more than any year in the past ten.

How many of those are local authority houses?

We have a long way to go yet. We are catching up on a seven-year period during which almost no new homes were built, and we know why that was. I do not need to give people-----

It was because Fine Gael was in government.

-----a history lesson as to how it came about. We are finally starting to catch up and are starting to see that now in the figures. However, the Deputy is absolutely right that we have much more to do and it will take many more years to do it.

I asked the Taoiseach whether he would extend a formal invitation to Ms Farha. This would be an important thing to do in the development of strategies. We do not have a coherent housing strategy: we have primarily a market-led and very expensive response. Ms Farha pointed out some very tangible solutions in other areas, first and foremost in respect of the private rental sector and greater supports in that regard. She gave the example of a foreign investor tax to make it less attractive for private equity firms to commandeer vast amounts of housing for profit and put them out of the reach of ordinary citizens. She talked about our Constitution protecting private property but supposedly being balanced by the common good. However, we rarely see the common good coming to the fore when it comes to housing. Will the Taoiseach extend that formal invitation? Furthermore, what strategies to reduce homelessness can he point to that will achieve the development goals to which we signed up?

I will certainly give the Deputy's suggestion consideration. I know the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has met with Ms Farha. At the time, she had not had the chance to read Rebuilding Ireland, so perhaps, as part of that engagement, we could get her views on Rebuilding Ireland. She certainly said a whole-of-government approach is needed. If I recall correctly, when I heard her interviewed on "Morning Ireland" or on one of the other radio programmes, she pointed out that, very sadly, housing and homelessness issues are a problem being grappled with by governments all over the world. I think she held out Finland as a stand-out country that is doing things differently.

Regarding strategies that work, we think the Housing First programme is working. We have appointed a director of Housing First. More than 150 tenancies have now been secured through Housing First. As a result, the most recent figures show a very significant reduction of approximately 40% in rough sleeping on our streets. I think this is in part a reflection of the strategies that are showing some results, but we have much to do.