Conor D McGuinness: Raises Alarm on Homelessness in Waterford
Conor D McGuinness warned of a deepening homelessness crisis in the South-East, detailing official figures and personal cases from Waterford and across rural communities. He criticised recent policy choices, highlighted rising national homelessness statistics, and called on the minister to acknowledge harm and change course.
Official figures and national trend
Conor D McGuinness set out official numbers for the South-East - 330 adults and 113 children recorded as homeless, including 70 families. He cited County Waterford figures of 110 adults and 37 children in local authority-funded emergency accommodation and noted national increases: homelessness up 13% a year, child homelessness up 15%, and almost 17,000 people officially homeless including more than 5,000 children. He also noted that fewer than 1,800 homes were available to rent across the state at the start of the month.
Personal stories from Waterford
He described individual cases he said he had met in his constituency office - Liam sleeping in his car despite working and paying tax; Emma, a survivor of domestic abuse, facing loss of a private rental; Louise unsure where her children would spend Christmas; James and his family overholding and at risk of eviction. He also recounted grown siblings raising young families in their parents' home and households with three generations under one roof.
Hidden rural homelessness
McGuinness emphasised that rural homelessness is often unseen and uncounted - young couples returning to childhood bedrooms with children, separated parents forced to continue sharing a home, and people returning from urban areas because there is nothing to rent locally. He warned this form of homelessness rarely makes headlines and is not always captured in official figures.
Policy critique and calls for change
He criticised reductions in funding for the tenant-in-situ scheme and changes he said favour institutional investors, arguing these measures will drive higher rents, shorter security, and more homelessness. He said supply continues to shrink despite official assurances, and that no credible modelling had been presented on impacts for renters. He held the minister and colleagues as well as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, backbenchers and independents responsible for current policy choices and demanded acknowledgement of mistakes and a change in trajectory.
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In the South-East today, 330 adults and 113 children officially recorded as homeless, 70 families, Minister. In County Waterford alone, 110 adults and 37 children are in local authority-funded emergency accommodation, and those are only the official figures, the tip of the iceberg. They reflect people in local authority accommodation, but they don't capture the hidden homelessness that every public representative in this chamber encounters weekly. There are certainly those of us that operate clinics and that have a listening ear. In Waterford alone, beyond the 37 children that are formally recorded, there are another 66 children placed on emergency bases in vacant council houses with their families, houses that aren't ready or fit for allocation at the moment. They're not secure tenancies, they're not allocated, they have no stability. It's effectively emergency accommodation under another heading. And behind those figures, behind those statistics, there are real stories of people that I meet just this week in my constituency office. Liam, who separated from his partner and ended up sleeping in his car, still sleeping in his car. He'll sleep there tonight. He works, he pays tax, he gets up early in the morning, and he did everything that was expected of him. Still he has nowhere to live, nowhere to go, and no prospect any time soon of that changing. Emma, who survived serious domestic abuse, secured a private rental, but now faces losing it because the landlord wants the property back, no fault of her own. And she's again staring homelessness in the face. Louise, who before Christmas, two days before Christmas, couldn't tell her children where Santa would be delivering presents. Ultimately, they had somewhere for the Christmas period. But the instability and the hardship and the stress that that caused her, I mean, you can't countenance it, Minister. James and his family, who are overholding because there's nowhere to go. He's leaving for work each morning, unsure whether he'll return to the locks having been changed and their whole life, their belongings, in black plastic bags out the front of the house. And I've met grown siblings just this week again, who are raising their respective young families in their parents' houses. Three generations under the one roof, multiple families, not out of choice but because the rental market has collapsed. And this is happening in Waterford City, in Dungarvan and across our rural communities as well. And rural homelessness rarely looks dramatic, it doesn't make headlines, it's usually unseen and seemingly unacknowledged by government, it doesn't tend to appear in your figures. It looks like a young couple back in the childhood bedroom with their kids, it looks like separated parents forced to continue sharing a home long after a relationship has broken down because neither can afford to live, or to leave, it looks like people returning from urban areas to overcrowded with family homes because there's nothing to rent locally. And that is homelessness too. We'd like to watch the same dance... ...and for the last bit... ..we'd like to do the same dance time... ...and with good dog music... ...we'd have come for two songs... ..but we'd love to see more... ..and now I'd like to hear my voice. I'd also like to hear from them... ..so it's been very difficult for her... ...but they're really not good... ...in the Gale, the last 40 and 19th... ...and we've got the truth... ...yeah, and we have to feel... agus agwif se siriltas kinti ele i yeenav. Nationally, homelessness has risen by 13% a year. Child homelessness has increased by 15%. Almost 17,000 people are officially homeless, including more than 5,000 children. And at the same time, funding for tenant in situ has been reduced. The scheme that keeps families in their homes and prevents entry into emergency accommodation, and we see the rent hike bill that your government is trying to pretend didn't happen, doesn't exist, and won't impact renters. And those rents are continuing to rise naturally, but they're definitely going to continue to rise in light of the changes that you've brought in at the behest of the institutional investors. Supply continues to shrink despite what you say, and fewer than 1,800 homes are available to rent across the state at the start of this month. No credible modelling has been presented to show what this will mean for renters, and the likely outcome is clear. Higher rents, shorter security, and increased risk of homelessness for families. In Waterford, this homelessness crisis has a human face. I've told you some of the stories, and this does come down to the policy choices that you've made, Minister, and indeed your colleagues, and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, backbenchers and the independents that are buoying up this government. So we need action, we need a change in direction from this government, but before any of that will happen, the psychological reality is you need to acknowledge the mistakes, you need to acknowledge the harm that has been caused, that is being caused, that will continue to be caused unless you change your ways, you change trajectory, and you change policy. And the question now is, Minister, having listened to this, having heard the statistics, having listened to the stories, will you do that? Will you change face? Will you change the trajectory? Will you listen to people of Ireland? Will you take this issue seriously? Thank you very much, Ted.
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