20% of people in homeless shelters have jobs

ONE in five people living in homeless hostels are working but are being forced to use the shelters to sleep in because they cannot afford to pay rent.

The startling discovery was made when a review of homeless people’s medical cards was undertaken by the HSE’s social inclusion division. It concluded that 20% of people in homeless accommodation did not qualify for a medical card because they were working.

More than 2,300 adults access homeless services in Dublin at any one time, with at least 600 people in emergency hostel-style accommodation, according to 2008 figures.