I am wondering if the Government has changed its mind about passing Solidarity's Anti-Evictions Bill 2018 in the light of what we have seen in the past week when a homeless man was murdered in Cork and another person died in Dublin. We have had children eating their dinner on a piece of cardboard in front of the GPO. We have had RTÉ showing children in their school uniforms queuing for food with their parents, not only for that night but also for their lunches the next day because they are homeless. If the Tánaiste is not sickened and appalled by this, ordinary people certainly are. There is, for example, a Facebook page called, Protest against Homelessness in Ireland. It has 33,000 members and was set up less than a week ago. Some 1,500 are joining it every day. They have called a protest at noon on 5 December. They cannot understand the business-as-usual attitude here. In fact, they cannot understand why members of the two big parties cannot even be bothered to press a button to vote on important issues. They cannot understand why evictions are being allowed to continue. Only for the intervention of volunteers on the streets and ordinary people, there would be a lot of families starving. Is the Government ashamed? Is it disgusted? Is the Tánaiste ashamed by what he has seen shown on television and in photographs?

I understand the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy English, will take this question.

A couple of questions were asked. The legislation on renting was updated in July. There will be another Bill coming through the Houses in the months ahead. We will, therefore, discuss the issue again. There was clear advice that we could not deal with the amendment on landlords who wanted to secure evictions before they sold their houses.

Second, in respect of families with children living on the streets, we are very clear, as is the Deputy, that there is no reason any children should be living on the streets. The supports are there for families in temporary emergency accommodation, be it in family hubs or commercial hotels-----

To queue for food for their lunch the next day that they cannot make in a hotel.

Please, let the Minister of State answer.

The supports are there and in every-----

Stop telling lies.

-----budget in the past three or four years we have increased the funding in this area.

Stop telling lies.

It is not in order-----

They are hardly queuing for no good reason.

It is not in order, Deputy Coppinger, to accuse-----

Seriously, the Minister of State's business-as-usual attitude is unbelievable. Are they queuing in their uniforms for fun? It is unbelievable. They cannot make lunch for their children.

Please, Deputy Coppinger. Will you resume your seat? It is not in order to accuse a colleague of lying.

It is. Why did he say families are doing it for no reason?

It is not in order, Deputy Coppinger.

Withdraw the remark.

Is the Minister finished his response?

No. I am not. To be clear and to ensure there is not any doubt, it is not business as usual. We have just passed-----

Withdraw that remark.

You withdraw your complacency and smugness. It would actually make a big difference.

A Cheann Comhairle, can I-----

Please-----

That is all you care about.

You do not have a monopoly on care.

A dose of reality.

Do not accuse me of that.

Smugness and arrogance is the raison d'être of many Members on that side of the House. Look at them.

I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle-----

They have done nothing. There has been no emergency legislation on homelessness.

Deputy, please, would you stop-----

That is disgraceful.

Deputy Coppinger, please, do not force me to suspend-----

I am one of the TDs dealing with families-----

Resume your seat when the Chair is on his feet.

-----and the Members opposite are saying those families are making it up and that they do not need to queue for food.

Resume your seat, please, Deputy. Please do not make me suspend the House. Show some respect.

To be very clear, we take this issue very seriously. The House has just passed the largest housing budget ever, with a concentration on extra resources and money-----

That is not true.

Will you listen?

It has not passed the largest budget ever.

The extra finance is available to focus on catering for families who do not have a house today. All the supports are in place for emergency accommodation, be it in a family hub or a commercial hotel. All the other supports through the various Departments, including the Departments of Employment Affairs and Social Protection; Health; Education and Skills; and so on, are available also to support families. We recognise and accept there is not a house for everyone straightaway. That is why we step in with all the emergency supports.

That is one way of putting it.

That is what we try to do. The majority of families that present as homeless every week are found a house quite quickly. In most cases, we were able to intervene and prevent them becoming homeless. That is very different from the position two or three years ago because this House takes the issue seriously and has allocated the money and the resources. A new outreach team now works on the streets of Dublin, through the Dublin Simon Community, with people who are homeless and rough sleepers to make sure they do not have to go out on the streets. That is what we are doing while at the same time trying to build and find more houses in which to house families. There are accommodation solutions for people who find themselves in an emergency situation.

Deputy Coppinger, you accused the Minister of State of lying. It is completely out of order. I ask you to withdraw that accusation.

And the remark-----

Can I make a-----

No.

I am asking you to withdraw-----

The Deputy should withdraw the remark made to me also.

I do not need any help from that side of the House, please.

A Cheann Comhairle, the Minister gave figures that are not true.

Will the Deputy, please, resume her seat?

You asked me to withdraw the remark.

Will you, please, withdraw the statement that you have made?

Okay. He told an untruth.

Thank you.

It is the same thing.

A Cheann Comhairle-----

A Cheann Comhairle, what did the Deputy say about me telling an untruth?

Resume your seats. We are not having a-----

First of all, it is not the largest budget ever-----

It is.

It is not.

You are making a farce of this session. We do not need comments from the Government side of the House and we need Deputy Coppinger to resume her seat and let business proceed.

A Cheann Comhairle, can I make a point of clarity?

You can make a complaint to the Committee on Procedure if you wish.

Can I make a point of clarification?

It is very busy right now but he can make a complaint.

A Cheann Comhairle, can the Minister offer a clarification on the matter?

What do you want to clarify?

To be clear, I said, and I am right to say this, that the largest housing budget ever was debated in the House and passed over two nights. That is what we are doing because we take this issue seriously. It is not right to say I am telling an untruth because I am not, and I would not.

Thank you very much.

You said there were no families-----

No, please.

A Cheann Comhairle-----

Resume your seat. You are being disorderly, Deputy.

If you had any decency you would withdraw the remark you made.

You are being disorderly, Deputy.

If you had any decency you would-----

You are being disorderly, Deputy.