I will mention two issues, the first of which is the tragedy in Berlin where 12 people were killed and 48 were injured at a Christmas market last night. On my own behalf and that of the Fianna Fáil group, I send my condolences to the people of Germany. We are living in uncertain times, with volatility in the Middle East, the rise of ISIS and the conflict in Syria which have caused wide-ranging consequences throughout Europe and fuelled a debate in which those on the right are front and centre. It is a threat to democracy and the rule of law. Seemingly, the pattern of elections in recent years has been that the far right is capitalising on a xenophobic agenda. That is wrong and makes me scared for the future of Europe. I also mention the murder of the Russian ambassador in Ankara.

We have learned - it is now in the public domain - that various banks have been identified by the Central Bank in respect of 8,200 mortgage holders who have been denied a tracker mortgage rate. During the recent economic downturn, this would have caused severe economic instability for householders and families. If the shoe was on the other foot, the banks would be pursuing consumers aggressively, suing them for special damages and whatnot. The Central Bank needs to take a firm approach. Ultimately, any time the banks make a mistake, it is always consumers who pay. We need to look at this issue, figure out how we can restore confidence in the banks and ensure the people who have been denied tracker mortgages have the remedy they justly deserve.

I raise with the Leader the issue of the national housing crisis. While we will have an opportunity to discuss the matter tomorrow when we debate the Rebuilding Ireland legislation, figures were released yesterday. In Dublin alone Dublin City Council is paying hotels, hostels and other emergency accommodation providers over €1 million per week for emergency housing. I do not have a problem with providing emergency housing, but that is the depth of the financial crisis related to the national housing crisis. In the capital city €1 million per week is being spent on sheltering the spiralling number of people who are homeless. That is an absolute indictment of the political system, the housing system and, ultimately, the Government which is responsible for this area. Recent figures also show that 1,026 families are registered as homeless in Dublin, including more than 2,110 children. That is the extent of the crisis. Dublin City Council confirmed to me recently that it had budgetary plans in 2017 to spend €120 million on homeless services. That is welcome, but it is a vast amount of money and only barely scratching the surface. It will not provide long-term sustainable homes for families and individuals, something to which, surely, they are entitled.

We have a national housing crisis. Over 100,000 people across 31 local authorities are on homeless lists.

Some local authorities are building virtually no social housing, which is a problem. Will the Leader, please, arrange for the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to come to the Seanad to, once and for all, deliver on Rebuilding Ireland? The Minister and his officials could not attend the joint committee in December. They were not in a position to do so. The Secretary General wrote to all the members, of which I am one. I have a copy of the letter which states they were not in a position to give the second quarterly report and review of progress on Rebuilding Ireland. It was an affront to the committee which sat in private session as there was no provision to have it broadcast. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister to the House very early in January to explain what is happening. If we are to have good policy, we need good data. Last week the Department confirmed to me that it was working off the summary of social housing assessment of 2013. We have had no national social housing assessment since 2013. These are the national statistics which should inform us. Good data make for good policy. We will have an opportunity to cover a number of issues tomorrow. It is critical that from 1 January Senators, Deputies and local authority members demand statistics on a monthly basis and debate them. The honeymoon and political stock of the Minister are over. I am not interested in comparing Leo and Simon. I want homes for people who are entitled to them. I want us to demand of the Government on a monthly basis an update on its stewardship of Rebuilding Ireland which is meant to be a Government programme.