Number of homeless people in Ireland hits new record

A tent belonging to a rough sleeper in Dublin City centre. Picture: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

The number of homeless people in Ireland has hit 13,531, a new record.

The latest figures from the Department of Housing show that 9,504 adults and 4,027 children were in emergency accommodation in January.

The figures show a sharp rise of over 200 more people in emergency accommodation in just one month, from 13,318 a month prior.  In December, a month when the number of people in emergency accommodation usually falls due to the Christmas period, there were 9,356 adults and 3,962 children homeless in Ireland. 

The previous record was set in November, when 13,514 people were in emergency accommodation.

Meanwhile, the number of asylum seekers who are without accommodation is also seen as a major concern, with the latest figures showing 1,010 people are going without accommodation.

One caseworker for the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) said they had met several people seeking protection who were sleeping rough, including two people who had been on the streets for almost 12 weeks.

“People are exhausted, and their mental health is deteriorating with each night on the street,” the caseworker said. “Three men had not eaten since the previous morning- they had no money for food and were unaware of homeless day services. One person spoke of the unsanitary conditions of life on the street and the risk of infection.” 

IRC chief executive Nick Henderson said such situations cannot become normalised in Ireland.

“We understand the difficult environment the Department of Children is working in to secure accommodation, but we are very concerned that accommodation capacity that does exist is not being used,” he said.

“It is hard not to conclude that this policy is an attempt to deter people from seeking international protection and that this situation is by choice and not inevitable.” Meanwhile, children’s charity Barnardos has urged the Government to address the standard of emergency accommodation for families in Ireland.

It said that its staff throughout the country report that children entering homeless accommodation are routinely experiencing considerable damaging trauma at vital times in their lives.

“This trauma stems from children being suddenly uprooted from their homes, friends and communities, often forced to move schools, and being placed into overcrowded and unsuitable accommodation,” it said.

“This frequently involves sharing single rooms with multiple siblings and parents, with little to no amenities, even to cook or store food, long distances from their homes for potentially long and uncertain periods of time.”

Speaking on the homeless figures generally, Focus Ireland labelled them a “serious setback”.

“As a society, we must move beyond mere expressions of disappointment at the persistently record-breaking homelessness figures each month,” CEO Pat Dennigan said. “It is time to take meaningful actions that will cause change, such as ensuring a fairer allocation of social housing for families who are homeless.” 

Dublin Simon CEO Catherine Kenny said the latest numbers signalled a return to “what is shockingly considered ‘normal’ in our society today – another upward turn in figures”.

“People are being failed over and over again by the system and the detrimental effects of long-term stays in emergency accommodation on mental and physical health are well documented,” she said.

“This has manifested as a feeling of paralysis and lack of move on for families into homes as a stagnated housing system leads to the stalling of so many hopes and dreams.”