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LAST UPDATE | 30 May
A RECORD NUMBER of people in the State are officially recognised as homeless as the latest figures reveal 15,580 were living in emergency accommodation in April.
The figure includes 4,775 children – 100 more than last month.
This doesn’t account for those rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers, individuals in domestic violence shelters, or those experiencing “hidden homelessness”, such as sleeping in cars, on couches, or other unsuitable living conditions.
The figures are taken from the week of 21 April.
Of the adults accessing emergency accommodation, 7,652 were in Co Dublin. Some 650 adults were in Cork, 496 were in Limerick, and 249 were in Galway.
There were 3,559 children living in emergency accommodation in Dublin. There were 230 in the West (Galway, Mayo and Roscommon), and 219 in the Mid-East (Kildare, Meath and Wicklow).
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne said the latest data released by the Department of Housing are indicative of a failed housing policy within Government.
He said: “Failing to take an interventionist approach in coordinating a national emergency response to homelessness across all local authorities, destroying the Tenant in Situ Scheme, and threatening to end rent caps have collectively pushed more and more people into homelessness.”
At this current rate of rising homelessness, Hearne says, the construction of affordable housing is not going to be able to keep up.
“These abject failures are intolerable and inexcusable – rising levels of homelessness will continue to outpace any social and affordable housing delivery from the State unless there is a radical shift in government policy,” he said.
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin described the increase in homelessness as “shocking but not surprising” as he took aim at the Government’s record on housing.
“It is a stain on this government and our society,” he said. “We cannot allow ourselves to accept this as normal. We must continue to be outraged by the fact that so many children are forced into emergency accommodation due to Government decisions.”
Ó Broin is calling on Govenrnment to introduce another emergency ban on no-fault evictions and to accelerate the provision of social and affordable homes.
“Homelessness is not an accident,” Ó Broin added. “It is a direct result of the decisions Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Ministers make in cabinet. They are responsible and, without emergency action, things will get worse.”
Conor Sheehan, Labour Party spokesperson on housing added his voice to the swirling anger of opposition parties in the wake of the latest figures, slamming Government “inertia”.
“It has become completely normalised that homelessness figures climb higher every month,” Sheehan said.
“This is no longer a housing crisis – it is a housing disaster, and Government is responding with inertia.
“We cannot accept a situation where 4,775 children have no place to call home.”
He attacked the two main parties for their “go-slow approach” to delivering on promises to implement solutions, resulting in record homelessness and unaffordable rents.
“Government must now turn the tide on this national scandal. They must stop outsourcing housing responsibility to the private market and deliver the public and affordable homes that Ireland so desperately needs.”
Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy at Focus Ireland, said the number of children homeless is “unacceptable”.
“This should be a carefree time for children as they look forward to school holidays and the longer evenings.
“Instead of this, the harsh reality for many children who are homeless is that they are studying for exams while living in family hubs or hotels without anywhere suitable to even do their homework.”
He said the government’s new housing plan, which is due to be published in July, must deliver a “radical policy shift” to meet the growing needs across society.
“It is possible to end homelessness, and we must all learn the lessons from what is working and has worked in the past and so more of the same.”
Ber Grogan, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said of today’s new figures: “This is the highest level of homelessness Ireland has ever seen, and it’s unacceptable.
“Behind every number is a person – a family, a child, a life in crisis. We are pleading with government leaders and local authorities to act decisively before this emergency becomes completely irreversible.”
She says “real investment” is needed to stem the rising trend in homelessness, endorsing the establishment of a new and fully-funded prevention framework.
“In certain areas, there is no funding for second-hand housing acquisitions under Tenant in Situ or Homeless Capital Assistance Scheme. We are deeply concerned that these decisions will result in reduced supply and increased vulnerability for those already most at risk.”
She added: “The continued rise in numbers reflects a failure in leadership.”
With reporting from Keith Kelly
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