Homelessness rises again, including 'worrying' increase involving children

Latest figures showed the number of people in emergency accommodation increased for the fifth month in a row, meaning 8,830 people, including 2,513 children, could face a Christmas without a home of their own. File picture: Dan Linehan

Homeless charities have expressed rising concern after latest figures showed the number of people in emergency accommodation increased for the fifth month in a row, meaning 8,830 people, including 2,513 children, could face a Christmas without a home of their own.

The monthly homelessness report showed 355 more people were homeless in October than in September, one of the most dramatic monthly increases in the figures in recent years.

The number of families homeless countrywide rose by 77 to 1,082, while the number of children increased by 169. Barnardos said this marked a 15% increase in the number of children who were homeless in just two months.

Focus Ireland said the last similar monthly increase was in January 2020 and before that it was the end of 2017, when a similar monthly increase occurred.

Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said: “The increase in homelessness is a stark reminder that high rents are continuing to put families and individuals under increased pressures as the impact of the pandemic is also taking a very heavy toll on low-income households. Landlords have issued over 2,000 eviction notices in the first nine month of this year – more than in the whole of last year (1,902).

The number of notices of termination has steadily increased since lockdown restrictions were lifted in April. Half of the notices of termination are due to landlords evicting to sell up, so the Government’s proposals for regulation have done a lot to discourage landlords and very little to protect tenants. 

"This is highly worrying at any time but especially when the number of Covid-19 cases have risen so much again.” 

The Dublin Simon Community said the number of people who were homeless was continuing to rise while frontline staff grapple with fourth Covid wave.

'Worrying' trend

The charity's chief executive Sam McGuinness said it was a “worrying” trend.

“If numbers in emergency accommodation continue on the worrying trajectory of the last few months, at least 6,335 men, women and children will be spending Christmas in emergency accommodation," he said.

“Our staff, nurses, clients and residents are now preparing for Christmas within the fourth Covid wave. As it is, Christmas is an incredibly challenging time for people experiencing homelessness. It can trigger childhood trauma, make them think about family and friends they no longer see and serve as a stark reminder of the loneliness and uncertainty of their current circumstances. It’s particularly tough for the single women and men in our services, many of whom have nowhere else to go on the day."

Pat Doyle, chief executive of Peter McVerry Trust, said: “The rise in the number of people in homelessness last month is disappointing but of wider concern is that we have now seen a sustained rise in the number of people recorded as homeless for the past few months.

“There has been and continues to be enormous efforts from NGOs in partnership with the DRHE [Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive], local authorities and the Department of Housing to offer more supports to people at risk and provide pathways into housing for those who do end up in homeless services.

“Even with this latest increase we are still someway off the peak we experienced in 2019 but we have to ensure that we do everything we can to stop the increase, to stabilise the numbers and ultimately drive it down to much lower levels."

The latest report showed more than half of those who were homeless were in private emergency accommodation. Some 70% of all those in emergency accommodation are in Dublin, followed by the South-West, with 8% – 440 in Cork City and county and 94 in Co Kerry.