Official homeless figures do not reflect real problems

The Simon Community has warned that official statistics relating to homelessness in Ireland grossly underestimate the real problem.

Officially, around 5,500 people are homeless in Ireland, but the Simon Community said even those in power acknowledge that these figures are not an accurate reflection of the true situation.

Spokesperson Noeleen Hartigan said: "What we'd like to see is for the Government to call in the voluntary service providers like Simon and have an honest debate about how we're going to address this anomaly."