High rental costs ‘leading to more homelessness’

Homelessness is now at unprecedented levels, with numbers swollen by people who cannot afford to pay rent and have no place to sleep at night.

A night cafe initiative, introduced as an emergency measure in Dublin by the charity Merchants Quay Ireland, is being expanded in response to demands for help.

Underlining the unprecedented demand, Merchants Quay Ireland chief executive Tony Geoghegan said the numbers sleeping rough every night can be as high as 140.