Sinn Féin TD for Dublin North West Dessie Ellis has said that the treatment of homeless families in the Travelodge Ballymun is “an indictment of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens”, and shows that they have offered no real solutions to the housing and homeless crises.

Teachta Ellis continued:

“The ending of the contract the Travelodge had with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has had an immediate and devastating impact on families housed there, as they are being forced to find accommodation elsewhere.

“This has placed a huge psychological strain on already stressed homeless families.

“I have been in touch with homeless services and they are working to find suitable accommodation for all the families concerned.

“The fact that families are being housed in a hotel in the first place shows the continuing failure of governments over many years with regard to the delivery of social and affordable housing. 

“The failed housing policies of this and past governments, and their dependence on private developers, has led to the appalling situation where young children spend their early formative years being shunted from one hotel room to another. 

“This disrupts family life in the most basic of ways. Children going to a school often have to face the prospect of travelling across the city to attend it as they have been housed in a hotel in another part of the city. 

“This also has a major impact on the mental health of the parents and the children.

“Clearly families are also at the mercy of the market where contracts can end and lives can be disrupted without a care.

“This is an indictment of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and in this present coalition the Green party, to have such a situation happen and with all the knowledge they have of the housing and homeless crisis. 

“These political parties have failed people repeatedly for years and have pandered to the whims of the developers and put in place regulations that have benefitted those who profit from those regulations at the expense of the person struggling to find a home of their own.

“We have been in a housing and homeless crisis for years and those in government are directly responsible for these man-made crises. 

“Fianna Fáil and others can wring their hands and say fine words as to how these families in the Travelodge are being treated, but the reality is that they and the government have had the time to resolve the housing and homeless crises and put in place solutions and they have not. 

“Instead they have done the opposite and are putting in measures such as the Shared Equity Scheme that will only lead to inflated house prices and increased debt for those looking to get on the property ladder.

“What is happening today in the Travelodge is a visible example of the failure of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Greens and past governments that these parties were members of or had colluded with.”