Homeless crisis set ‘to worsen’
Merchants Quay Ireland fears the housing crisis will “get worse” as rents continue to rise and emergency accommodation remains clogged up.
MQI chief executive Tony Geoghegan said the Government should immediately open up unused accommodation to provide those sleeping rough somewhere “safe and clean” to rest.
Publishing the MQI 2013 Annual Review, Mr Geoghegan said they were seeing increasing demand for all its services — soup kitchens, medical help, needle exchange services, and drug detox.
The demand is growing from outside Dublin, reflecting the national scale of the housing and drugs crisis and lack of local services, said Mr Geoghegan.
“While there is much talk of the improving economic situation, these improvements haven’t filtered down to those most in need,” he said.
“In fact, conversely, as the economy recovers, it has placed increased pressure on the over-priced rental market and is trapping more and more people in homelessness.
“My concern is that it is going to get worse, because the move on from homelessness is dependant on the private rented sector and rents are going up and many landlords don’t want social welfare tenants.”
The campaigner said it was “totally unacceptable” that up to 150 people were sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin every night.
He said the 1,600 emergency accommodation beds were full and urged the Government to open up unused accommodation to provide these people with somewhere to sleep that is “safe, clean and warm.”
“That should be a minimum provision, because it will saves lives: that’s the reality,” said Mr Geoghegan.
“With the budget due soon, we call on the Government to honour their commitment to social justice and ensure that the benefits of the recovery are targeted to protect the most vulnerable men and women in Ireland.”
Mr Geoghegan said homelessness was not just a Dublin problem. He said MQI’s Midlands Harm Reduction Outreach Service saw a 34% jump in demand from drug users, rising to 3,264 visits.
Mr Geoghegan said they had seen a rise in the number of people from outside Dublin in its residential drug facilities.
He said 58% of admissions to St Francis Farm Detox unit in Carlow came from outside Dublin, with people from 18 counties at the centre.
In addition, 48% of those accessing their drug-free rehabilitation service at High Park, Drumcondra, Dublin and St Francis Farm were from outside the capital.
He said this highlighted the “real need for detox and rehab facilities across Ireland”.
Mr Geoghegan said it was “soul-
destroying” for those who spend four to six months in drug treatment, detox, and rehabilitation, only to be put back into emergency accommodation — and surrounded by drug users — because they can not get into rented accommodation.
He said benzodiazepines (prescription tranquillisers) and heroin were the drugs used by 80% of those undergoing detox, reflecting the rise of benzodiazepines. He said it was a national problem and said the tablets were “very available and cheap”.
- An 11% increase in meals provided, to 85,000 meals;
- A 35% jump in individual medical interventions, to 4,500;
- A 16% rise in visits by drug users to needle exchange services, to 25,000;
- A 10% increase in visits by new drugs users, to 614.
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