Trebling in numbers sleeping rough as funds fall

Cork Simon has called on the Government to protect the homeless budget after a trebling in the numbers of people sleeping rough as its state funding was cut.

The staggering increase to a four-year high, and the full extent of the challenges facing the homeless charity, will be revealed at the launch of its annual report today.

It shows that more than 1,000 people turned to Cork Simon for help last year, with 161 people recorded as sleeping rough in the city on at least one night in 2012.