I wish to record my sadness at hearing of the passing of former Deputy Derek Keating. I did not realise he had died. I share our sympathies.

I want to return to the story of Micheline Walsh, a 78-year-old woman. The Taoiseach described the situation in which she and her husband find themselves as very sad. It is indeed very sad. The situation is also unacceptable and, in fact, it is outrageous that Micheline and her husband, people who have worked hard all of their lives, and 175 others over the age of 65 are living in emergency accommodation. People who should be enjoying their golden years are facing the prospect or the reality of homelessness. The Taoiseach disregarded a call in respect of the eviction ban and said that it would not have made any difference and would have stored up more problems but in the case of Micheline and her husband, the reality is that in a short couple of weeks, they will face homelessness. They have nowhere to go. They have been passed from pillar post by very nice people, they say, who work within the system. There is no answer for them. I raise Micheline's case because she has spoken out courageously and eloquently. However, I raise not only her case but also the circumstances of many others. For the over-65s, the seniors, people who have worked hard and contributed to our society and built our economy, where are they to go? Where will Micheline and her husband go in a few short weeks' time?

I thank the Deputy. As I said earlier, this is a sad case. We all sympathise with Micheline and her family. As the Deputy mentioned, there are approximately 100 or 200 people over 65 years of age in emergency accommodation. That represents approximately 2%, but it is still a lot. There are more than 100 people over the age of 65 in emergency accommodation. Many of those became homeless while the eviction ban was in place. The eviction ban did not cause homelessness to fall. It rose nearly every month in which the ban was in place. An eviction ban does not provide a solution but delays the point at which a solution can be found. As I said earlier, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been in touch with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to examine options, including the provision of social housing, the tenant in situ scheme, whereby the council could buy the property, or an alternative housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancy. More than 2,000 HAP tenancies have been created so far this year. It would be much better to have a solution in the next few weeks than to put off finding a solution for three or six months. I do not think that would be the best outcome.