Homeless figures hit new record with more than 13,866 in emergency accommodation

Two homeless people sleeping rough just off the South Mall in Cork City, Ireland. Picture: David Creedon

The level of homelessness in Ireland hit another new record in March.

A total of 13,866 people are now in emergency accommodation, up 25 from last month. However, the number of children homeless has dropped from 4,170 to 4,147.

Overall, 73% of all homeless people nationally are in Dublin - 1,453 families, 4,487 single adults, and 3181 children.

These figures do not include those rough sleeping or in domestic violence refuges.    

Charity Dublin Simon said that 111 offers of emergency accommodation are made nightly in the capital, with only four households a day in the region exiting homelessness to a home.

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon, said the figures were "alarming".

“Behind these numbers lie stories of heartbreak and struggle, and the daily and nightly routine of homelessness is starkly evident. The escalating trend of adults and children seeking emergency accommodation each day and night is untenable. Prolonged stays in emergency shelters strip away hope, leaving deep scars on mental and physical health. The impact on children is immeasurable, robbing them of their security and stability in some of their most important developmental years.” 

"This is not merely a failure of the system; it is a failure of compassion. Each person experiencing homelessness in Dublin represents a painful testament to the failures of our society to provide for its most vulnerable members. They deserve more than temporary solutions and empty promises. They deserve homes.’’

Despite revised housing targets Focus Ireland has said the Government is moving far too slowly.

The Taoiseach pledged to build 250,000 new homes over the next five years but it emerged this week that only 5,800 dwellings were completed in the first quarter.

The significant fall suggests that Simon Harris's pledge to oversee the building of 250,000 new homes over the next five years is already under threat.

"Things are moving far too slowly for the over 4,000 children who are homeless in Ireland," Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said.

"This massive increase in homelessness was not inevitable and its root cause is the repeated failure to deliver sufficient social and affordable housing."

The charity wrote to Mr Harris saying that with the right policies in place, homelessness can be solved. It called on him to make homelessness and the housing crisis a core political priority.

"While it is positive that more social housing has been provided in the past year - and new targets are to be set - it remains a stark reality that homelessness has increased every month," said Mr Dennigan.