Coalition homeless strategy ‘in tatters’

MORE people than ever are sleeping rough because the Government has reneged on its pledge to tackle a homeless crisis, charity groups said yesterday.

The number of new homeless cases encountered by the Simon Community has doubled this year in comparison with figures for the first three months of 2002.

Today, Dublin Simon Community’s annual report will show that outreach workers have so far this year encountered between 34 and 39 new homeless people every month, as workers come across one new homeless person every day in the capital.

The corresponding numbers for last year were between eight and 15 new cases every month.

The Simon Community says the Government’s three-year homeless strategy, launched in 2000, is in tatters.

Local authority plans and funding for three-year programmes aimed at moving people from the street into stable accommodation have not been delivered, it says.

Nationally, the four Simon Communities need €8m to operate for a year, but only received half that amount this year.

Simon Community chief executive Greg Maxwell yesterday accused the Taoiseach of not living up to his commitments to tackle the crisis:

“Exactly three years ago the Government launched a national homelessness strategy in response to what they admitted was a crisis situation. Today the crisis remains, but the Government’s promises that funding would not be an issue are sounding very hollow.”

Mr Maxwell said a Simon resettlement project aimed at giving homeless people the skills required to settle and work again had received no capital funding from Government:

“Dublin businesses have stepped in where the Government have let us down; they have faith in what this project can achieve, faith which is sadly lacking in the Government’s limited funding structure.”

Focus Ireland, which also deals with homeless cases, claims to have received 25% less funding than it required.

Its chief executive, Declan Jones, warned that services would have to be cut.

A Department of the Environment spokesperson said an additional €7m had been made available for homeless projects this year, bringing total funding for organisations to €50m.

The spokesperson said department national figures on homelessness would be published within the week.