Further rise in homelessness amid fears over cost-of-living 

Focus Ireland said it was deeply concerned at the latest monthly increase, with at least one family becoming homeless every day in the last six months and with more on the brink of homelessness due to what it said was an unstable housing sector. File picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

Homeless charities have expressed dismay at the latest monthly report showing a further rise in the number of people in emergency accommodation.

The January report issued by the Department of Housing shows 9,150 people were homeless – an increase of 236 compared to 8,914 people who were homeless in December.

The number of children homeless also increased to 2,563, involving 1,119 families, more than half of whom are single-parent families.

The vast majority of those in emergency accommodation is in Dublin, at 70%, while Cork city and county had the next highest number, with 457 people homeless in January. The area with the second-highest number of homeless children, after Dublin, was the west.

Focus Ireland said it was deeply concerned at the latest monthly increase, with at least one family becoming homeless every day in the last six months and with more on the brink of homelessness due to what it said was an unstable housing sector.

Focus Ireland CEO, Pat Dennigan, said: “There are children in families who mostly lost their homes in the private rented sector as they could not keep up with rising rents and in other cases, the landlord could be selling the property so the family can be evicted. Many low-income families are dependent on housing assistance payments (HAP), yet HAP has not increased in over five years.

"Tenants must pay a portion of the rent themselves on top of the HAP payment and what our services around the country have seen in that the families have to cut back on food, heating, and other bills to try to keep a roof over their heads. 

They quickly fall into arrears and debt and end up losing their home and becoming homeless. Once homeless it is proving near impossible for many families to regain a home in the private rented sector, so too many become trapped in homelessness.” 

Focus Ireland welcomed the indication from the Government that it is to review HAP rates but said it needed to be done as quickly as possible.

Sam McGuinness, chief executive of Dublin Simon Community, said the situation in the capital was being impacted by the cost of living, on top of other issues.

"For the last eight months, numbers have been increasing at an alarming rate, undoing much of the progress made across the sector by all partners during the pandemic," he said.

"Already in the midst of a housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis is now dominating referrals to our prevention teams. 

There are elderly people wearing coats indoors to save on heating and young families attending soup kitchens to save on food. 

"Rents are also increasing, causing major distress and bewilderment to people who have received valid notices of termination and cannot find anywhere to live within their budgets. When you’re fighting three crises at once — health, housing and cost of living, the term crisis begins to lose all meaning."

The number of people in emergency accommodation has risen consistently since last May and Mr McGuinness said Dublin Simon was working with people who are spending far too long in emergency accommodation due to an ongoing lack of housing supply.