A total of 93 families in Cork will spend their Christmas in homeless accommodation. Five of them will have been in homeless accommodation for over three years. This year, the Government will spend €21 million housing these families while there are hundreds of boarded-up council houses in Cork that could be turned around. These are places where children could have a proper Christmas and hang stockings on the chimney, knowing that Santa will come down it. However, the Minister's Government will not reopen the voids scheme. Will the Minister or his Government give a commitment now? We are two weeks out from Christmas and families are homeless. Will the Minister commit to opening and funding the voids scheme to give these families a home this year instead of wasting money on emergency accommodation when it should be put into homes?

The Deputy raises a very important issue. Some local authorities are very good at dealing with voids. Some local authorities have no issue in returning voids to their stock.

The scheme is closed.

They do it out of their own resources and by connecting directly with-----

The Government is spending €21 million on homeless accommodation.

Will the Deputy let me answer?

Allow the Minister to answer, Deputy Gould.

If the Deputy does not want to hear the answer, I will sit down. Does he want to hear the answer? Some local authorities are very good at this.

You are the Minister. I am not talking about local authorities. You are in government.

Deputy Gould----

One second, I asked a question.

You asked a question-----

I asked a question but the Minister is talking about local government. He is the Minister representing the Government here today. He is the person who should give the answer. He should not blame local government. He wants to blame local government and Irish Water.