Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that the refusal of the Taoiseach and Minister Darragh O’Brien to recognise the Housing Emergency is “a big problem”.

Speaking following Leaders Questions today, where she read out the stories of those whose mental health has been affected by the emergency, Ms McDonald said:

“We have a Taoiseach and a Minister for Housing who refuse to recognise that we have a housing emergency. That’s a big problem.

“It means we don’t get that emergency response that people need. The very first thing you must do to tackle any difficulty effectively is to acknowledge the scale of it. Then you bring investment, you bring resources, you bring pace at the level required.

“That hasn’t happened under this government .

“After two and a half years in office, the Taoiseach and Minister O’Brien are in a state of denial.

“As Micheál Martin prepares to depart as Taoiseach, house prices are sky high, rents are through the roof and we have a shameful, record level of homelessness.

“Many of those who do have a roof over their heads live in real insecurity. That’s the legacy of this government’s failed housing plan for which workers and families are paying a heavy price every day.”