When Deputy Varadkar became Taoiseach there were 2,895 children in Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government funded emergency accommodation. The latest figures were published yesterday and show that in September there were 3,829 children in emergency accommodation. On the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar's watch almost 1,000 children have become homeless, an increase of 32%, or two children becoming homeless every single day since he took charge. In September the number of children in emergency accommodation rose by a shocking 136. That is an increase of four children into homelessness every single day of that month. We know that these figures do not paint the full picture. Despite repeated requests from my office and others, the Minister, Deputy Zappone, still will not instruct Tusla to release up to date figures on the number of women and children in domestic violence refuges and step-down accommodation. We do not even have figures for 2017, let alone updated figures for this year. Since March, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has removed 625 adults and 981 children from the homeless figures provided by his Department. According to the local authorities where these people come from, the families were accessing homeless services, living in temporary accommodation and considered homeless at the time they were removed, yet the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, saw fit to remove them.

The actual number of children sleeping in emergency accommodation tonight is far greater than yesterday's figures show. In response to the escalating family homelessness crisis, Focus Ireland is calling on the Government to take four clear steps. It wants a dedicated strategy in place to end family homelessness; for every homeless family to have a dedicated caseworker to assist them to get out of emergency accommodation; a guarantee that no family with children will be referred to a Garda station to sleep in the absence of emergency accommodation; and a commitment that no family will be in emergency accommodation for longer than six months. Last week I introduced the prevention of family homelessness Bill. The Bill, based on the Focus Ireland amendment, would prevent buy-to-let landlords from issuing vacant possession notices to quit, which is still the single biggest cause of family homelessness. It is our intention to bring that Bill before the House as soon as possible.

Will the Tánaiste, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Government support and fully implement Focus Ireland's four key demands on family homelessness, and will they give a clear commitment that they will support the family homelessness prevention Bill on Second Stage?

We have had this exchange on many occasions in this House. I acknowledge that homelessness is one of the greatest challenges this Government faces, and we are determined to resolve it. I hope there will co-operation and constructive opposition from people on the other side of this House. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government published the monthly homeless report for September yesterday. Nationally the number of persons accessing emergency accommodation increased by 171 when compared to August; the report shows an increase of 35 adults and 136 dependents. For the second month in a row, however, family presentations in Dublin are down. It is important to refer to progress as well. The number of new families entering emergency accommodation is also down. Furthermore, in Dublin during September 119 families were prevented from entering emergency accommodation, while 45 families exited emergency accommodation. Despite the high levels of homelessness, results are being achieved. Last year 4,729 adults and their associated children exited homelessness into tenancies. However, we need to do more. We must accelerate exits from homelessness and we have to do more to prevent families becoming homeless in the first place.

The Tánaiste should answer the question.

On Focus Ireland's request, of course we want to achieve a limit of no more than six months in emergency accommodation. It is one of the reasons we have expended huge resources on putting family hubs in place as well as the supports in those hubs to help families transition from emergency accommodation, which should and can only be temporary in nature. Many families are being moved through those hubs into long-term tenancies and social housing well within that six month period. Of course we agree that no family should be sleeping in a Garda station. We agree with those things. In terms of the request that every family has a case worker, my understanding is that we are working with individual families. Whether they are in hotel accommodation, which is not suitable and which we need to move away from, in hub accommodation, which is only suitable for a temporary period of time, or in some other form of emergency accommodation, we have to work with those families to transition as quickly as possible into sustainable tenancies or into longer-term social housing.

All those things are happening and are under way, but the numbers are still significant. We recognise that, which is why the budget provided a dramatic increase of resources committed to this issue, including €2.4 billion for next year, a 26% increase - almost €500 million - to ensure that we add an extra 10,000 social houses to our housing stock next year and that we deliver an extra 25,000 homes generally across the housing market, as well as focusing on affordable housing programmes, increasing dramatically the resources for housing assistance payments, HAP, spending another €60 million on family hubs, both outside Dublin and in Dublin, and increasing the expenditure on homeless services to help support families through very difficult periods in their lives. An extra €30 million has been provided to that end, bringing the total to €140 million. When one considers the funding for homeless services four or five years ago, or even two or three years ago, we are now talking about multiples of what was available then. We are responding in terms of resources and policy, but it will take time to make the kind of impact on homelessness that we all want to see.

The slowdown in the number of families presenting in the last month is seasonal. Exactly the same thing happened last year and the year before, so that is not a sign of progress. The second problem is that the number of exits from homelessness the Tánaiste mentioned is incorrect. At least half of those families were never in emergency accommodation in the first place. Talking to the Department and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, it is clear that the number of families leaving emergency accommodation is approximately half the figure the Tánaiste has quoted. He is correct to say that funding for emergency services has increased dramatically. That is a sign of failure, not success. How much more time does this Government need? How many more children have to end up in emergency accommodation before the Government accepts that its plan is failing?

Focus Ireland has made four clear demands. It would not have made those demands if the Government was already acting on the issues it raises. Perhaps the Tánaiste will answer the question.

Will the Tánaiste commit to those four specific demands now? On the fifth question which the Tánaiste did not answer, will he support the Focus Ireland amendment, when we bring it forward on Second Stage, to ensure no family is evicted into homelessness by a landlord who benefitted from a tax break when they bought their buy-to-let mortgage at the height of the boom?

I am not going to commit to individual amendments to legislation on the floor of the House. The Deputy will have the opportunity to make the case and the Minister is more than capable of responding comprehensively to it.

We are putting more resources into emergency accommodation and housing assistance payments because there is a temporary crisis to which we need to respond in a compassionate way to ensure that families and individuals are as comfortable as they can be in emergency accommodation, that we upgrade that emergency accommodation but, at the same time, accept that it is not a long-term solution.

How long is that for?

This is a temporary arrangement where the State has to support families through homelessness while we put in place long-term solutions.

We have a five-year housing strategy which we are two years into. The most challenging element of that in terms of human impact is around homelessness, in particular family homelessness. We are more than conscious of that.

We work with, fund and listen to Focus Ireland every single day trying to improve our services. We will continue to listen and work with the agency. However, we cannot have a change of policy on the floor of the House. All of the measures that Focus Ireland is looking for, we are looking to deliver. We need to be honest with people, however, as it takes time to deliver these.