New homelessness record prompts calls to 'turn the corner' on the crisis

29/04/2023 Dublin Ireland. Pictured a homeless tent on Henry Street in a week where homeless figures were on the raise. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Yet another grim record in the number of people trapped in emergency accommodation has prompted advocates to say the country badly needs to turn the corner on rising homelessness.

Furthermore, the Government has been urged to introduce legislation to protect children who are homeless with the figures “confirming” the concerns of charities that warned against lifting the no-fault eviction ban.

The Department of Housing’s latest homelessness report said there were 12,441 people in emergency accommodation in the last week of May, up 182 on the previous month.

It said that there were 1,770 families accessing emergency accommodation, which included 3,699 children.

There were a further 8,742 homeless adults in the country, of which 63% were male and 37% female. Two-thirds (67%) were single adults, the figures state.

Charities in the sector have said they fear that homelessness levels will rise further in the coming months, with numbers continuing to increase since the lifting of the no-fault eviction ban at the end of March.

'Shocking' increases 

Focus Ireland’s director of advocacy Mike Allen described it as “terrible” to see family homelessness increase rise 30% in the space of a year.

“It feels as if the shocking monthly increases in homelessness have stunned the country and left us unable to take action,” he said. 

“But this is not inevitable and perhaps we should start by looking at what we can do for the children who are homeless with their families.” 

Mr Allen said that new legislation should compel local authorities to provide families with safe and secure accommodation, offering the support and protection they “desperately need”.

“By enacting such measures, we can take significant strides towards safeguarding the rights and future of every child experiencing homelessness in our society,” he said.

Depaul CEO David Carroll said that it was “disappointing” not to see any reduction in the numbers in the latest figures.

“An incredible amount of work is still needed alongside significant additional funding from Budget 2024 to get people out of temporary accommodation which is only meant to be short term,” he said.

At present, almost 1 in 2 people in our homeless services (45%) are first time homeless which is a worrying figure.

“While we welcome the ongoing housing initiatives being announced by the Government, we urge that Budget 2024 be used in a variety of ways with a key focus on the private rented sector which is a leading driver of homelessness.” 

 In a statement, Peter McVerry Trust CEO Francis Doherty said, to turn the corner, a close look is required at the type of social housing that is being delivered.

“[Our] concern is that while housing output grows, the type of homes being delivered doesn’t adequately reflect the needs of people impacted by homelessness or even the main need of people on the wider social housing waiting lists,” he said.

“Almost 50% of the people in homelessness last month needed a one bed home, no other house type comes anywhere near that figure.

“This week if you looked at the total number of one-bedroom homes to buy on the market on daft.ie or myhome.ie of any type or price there are just around 600 nationally. So even if we bought every single one of those homes tomorrow you are only securing 10% of the homes we need to tackle the needs of single homeless people in May.” 

Dublin Simon CEO Catherine Kenny said that the lack of exits from homelessness means that people are becoming stuck in homeless services indefinitely which is “exacerbating the bottleneck in the system”.

“We need fully resourced tenancy sustainment services, homelessness prevention teams to be established in each local authority, and a review of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to reflect market rates, to occur in conjunction with the longer-term plan to increase housing supply,” she said.