Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin said the Minister was "hiding from opposition questions" after he failed to attend in the Dáil chamber during Promised Legislation or Topical Issues.
Deputy Ó Broin said: "It has been a year since Simon Coveney was appointed as Minister for Housing. Despite announcement after re-announcement of different initiatives the Minister's plan is failing. The figures speak for themselves. Homelessness is up 20% since the Minister took office. His July the 1st deadline to ensure that no homeless families will be living in hotels and B&Bs is looming and we have yet to see any detail as to how he plans to achieve this.
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"Social housing delivery is moving at a snail's pace with the promised rapid builds failing to materialise on time. How many private homes have been completed is anyone's guess due to the inaccurate figures depended on by the Department of Housing to count completions.
"The rental crisis is worsening, despite the introduction of rent pressure zones, rents are continuing to rise. In Dublin, the number of properties available on short term let on Airbnb is five times the amount available on Daft.ie for long term rental. The Minister has not yet brought forward regulations to deal with this phenomenon."
(CD/LM)
