Emergency shelters record 10% rise in homelessness

The number of homeless people living in emergency accommodation across Ireland has risen by almost 10% since November.

Figure compiled by housing authorities for the Department of the Environment show 2,980 homeless adults were housed in emergency accommodation in January — up 260 in the space of two months.

In addition to the adults, 865 children were also registered as staying in hostels, B&Bs, and hotels — a fall of 22 since November’s figures.

The latest figures show there has been a 15% rise in the number of homeless people recorded in Dublin since November — up 251 to 1,960. The capital accounts for around two thirds of all homeless people in the country.

The number of homeless people staying in emergency accommodation in Limerick rose to 241 last month — an increase of 12 over the previous two months, while there was a 6% increase in the numbers in Cork – up 11 to 203.

There were slight falls in the numbers of homeless people living in several counties including Galway, Waterford, Donegal, Meath, and Wexford.

In contrast, there is a growing demand for emergency accommodation for homeless people in Kildare with the numbers up from 40 in November to 62 last month. Clare and Wicklow also witnessed a growing demand for their homeless services.

Homeless charities and Opposition politicians claim the cap placed by the Department of Social Protection on the rents that households on rent supplement may pay is helping to inflate homeless numbers as the cap does not reflect average monthly rents in many areas.

In December, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive expressed concern that more than 1,000 family members had been identified as being at imminent risk of homelessness in Dublin.

The latest increase in homeless numbers comes after a week in which campaigner Fr Peter McVerry clashed with Environment Minister Alan Kelly over the effectiveness of the Government’s €20m action plan to tackle the homeless crisis which was launched following the death of a homeless man, Johnny Corrie, near Leinster House in December.

Fr McVerry had branded the Government’s promise to end homelessness by 2016 as “Alice in Wonderland politics” — a remark which earned the charity founder a strong rebuke from the Labour minister.

Although Fr McVerry acknowledged that Mr Kelly was doing a better job to tackle the problem than his predecessors, he also observed: “Homeless numbers are going up and up... yet the mantra continues that we are going to eliminate long-term homelessness.”

However, another veteran homeless campaigner, Alice Leahy of Trust, praised the minister for his commitment to tackling the problem and his “can-do” attitude.