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# State of the Nation
'Somebody dying on the street outside the Dáil is not acceptable'
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Irish politics right now…
HERE IS THEJOURNAL.IE’s comprehensive guide to what’s happening in the political world this morning.
Everyone’s talking about
A homeless man dying in a doorway on Molesworth Street, just metres from Leinster House.
Simon Coveney said the fact that a homeless man died on the street close to the Dáil is unacceptable. The Agriculture and Defence Minister told Morning Ireland it was shocking “that somebody would die on our streets outside parliament”.
He said the Government is “trying” to respond to the homelessness crisis but “there are no simple quick-fix solutions that can be implemented overnight”.
Coveney added that more emergency beds need to be provided quickly to help people in the event of “a deep cold snap”.
The main problem here is the lack of houses, we’ve effectively had no houses built over the last five or six years in Ireland – that needs to dramatically change.
Last week, the Government announced its social housing plan which aims to supply 35,000 additional houses at a cost of €3.8 billion over the next 6 years.
At a meeting of Dublin City Council last night, members backed a motion calling on Chief Executive Owen Keegan to identify unused Council property in the city centre area to be converted into temporary shelters.
The agenda
- 2pm: Environment Minister Alan Kelly will be answering questions related to his department.
- 3.15pm: Taoiseach Enda Kenny will have the floor during Leaders’ Questions.
- 4.15pm: The Health Committee will debate a HIQA ambulance service review (Room 1).
- 7.30pm: Fianna Fáil is putting forward a motion that criticises the HSE’s 2015 Service Plan and calls on the Government to fund health services “appropriately and sufficiently”.
What the others are saying
- Irish Water hasn’t yet started to destroy the PPS numbers it gathered, according to the Irish Daily Mail.
- The Irish Independent reports that Enda Kenny’s parliamentary secretary Ger Deere has lodged a complaint with gardaí after he received an abusive phonecall from a man purporting to be from Sinn Fein.
- The same paper states that Ann Lenihan has sought access to the dossier that claims her husband, and former Tánaiste, the late Brian Lenihan Snr held an offshore bank account.
- The Independent also says that the Government is to delay the introduction of measures aimed at forcing landlords to take unpaid water bills from tenants’ deposits.
- The Herald reports on former Fianna Fáil minister Mary Hanafin receiving an MA in American Studies at UCD. The councillor said Hillary Clinton inspired her.
In case you missed it
- Secondary teachers are on strike today, with Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan saying she is opening to further discussions on junior cycle reform – if teachers compromise.
- Former Fianna Fáil minister Ned O’Keeffe was given a seven-month suspended sentence and fined €3,500 for using fake invoices to claim expenses totalling over €3,700, between 2002 and 2009.
- Dublin’s Lord Mayor said it was “a national disgrace” that a homeless man died just metres from Leinster House.
- Independent TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly will be appearing in court tomorrow, following their arrest at Shannon Airport in July.
- Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the Taoiseach was “deluded“.
- Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is flying to Israel and Palestine to meet with leaders there today.
It was a great goal, in fairness.
