I refer to the news coverage on Monday and the programme by RTE on Monday night on emergency homeless accommodation to highlight one matter. It relates to the 123 complaints made about emergency accommodation. These complaints and their outcome were made available to RTE under an FOI request. What perhaps was not brought into the public domain was the acknowledgement by all concerned that the complaints had been fully investigated and resolved in a timely fashion. It is important to acknowledge the professional role played by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive which acts on behalf of all four Dublin local authorities in what have been difficult circumstances in the past two years in the area of homelessness and to say the 123 complaints related not solely to private accommodation but also to accommodation provided by statutory providers and NGOs. These were 123 complaints out of approximately 9,000 unique placements in the Dublin region for homeless emergency accommodation and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive is playing a valuable role in dealing with homelessness in the city of Dublin.

I welcome a recent announcement by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government that mediation between landlords and tenants conducted through the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, will now be free. This is an important step forward in the landlord and tenant relationship. It encourages a non-aggressive approach in an effort to bring understanding between the parties which, quite often, is most needed between landlords and tenants when there are conflicts. It is important to bear in mind that most landlord and tenant relationships are happy and never end up in conflict. Encouraging the use of mediation is important because one is dealing with a home and ensuring the relationship between the landlord and tenant goes forward in an amicable manner is best achieved by mediation.

I also welcome another measure that went slightly unnoticed. Mortgage interest relief has been increased to 100% for landlords who rent their properties to tenants who are in receipt of social welfare, whether it be rent supplement, housing assistance payment, HAP, or rental accommodation scheme, RAS, payments. As far back as 2002, fewer than 50% of landlords were willing to rent to tenants on social welfare payments. We really need to address that issue. The bottom line is it is difficult for tenants in receipt of social welfare supports to obtain housing and anything that can be done to encourage landlords in that direction is to be welcomed.

There is a real need for a new Government to tackle, honestly and upfront, all of these issues, not only housing but also the waiting lists in hospitals. It is interesting to hear Senators from the other side talk about issues surrounding homelessness. What did they expect when the Government built no houses during its lifetime? I refer to five years where the housing stock throughout every local authority has been allowed to decline and does not meet the demand. The Government was bound to end up with this crisis; it was foreseen and the Government has not dealt with it. The same may be said of hospitals. In Wexford General Hospital, for example, I have experience recently of where young children looking for an appointment for routine issues with a paediatrician are waiting eight months.

Some issues are not so routine. I refer to girls who had the HPV vaccine where the HSE is in denial of the consequences, with many suffering chronic fatigue and other issues and having to wait eight months when they are having difficulty in attending school. It may well be past the start of the following school year, in September, before they will be seen by a consultant to receive treatment for their condition. It simply is not good enough.

We have seen issues in the bankruptcy area and the banks, where those with mortgages are at the mercy of the Judiciary. On the banks, it is simply not good enough. The Government has failed to stand by the ordinary person, whether he or she is in need of housing, of fairness from the system with regard to his or her borrowings, or needs medical attention. It is a source of dereliction over five years.

I will comment on the point made by Senator Terry Leyden about GSOC. We all realise that we are living in times when our security and safety were never more challenged. This applies right across the western world but particularly in Africa and the Arab world. The Garda must be equipped to carry out surveillance within a defined area to protect people's safety and there should be no exclusions from this for politicians, journalists or anybody else. That matter should be prioritised. It will be too late if we have a number of people killed because of a failure of intelligence services to be able to introduce precautions or protect us against this. Given the times in which we live, we need to circumscribe where telephones can be tapped and the type of information that can be obtained and then ensure it applies evenhandedly and fairly and is subject subsequently to review.