'Shameful': Number of homeless people surpasses 14,000 for first time

Picture: Moya Nolan

The number of homeless people in Ireland has topped 14,000 for the first time.

Some 14,009 people were recorded as using emergency accommodation in April this year, including 9,803 adults.

The number of homeless children also hit the highest number ever recorded at 4,206. The children come from 1,996 families. Since April 2023, the number of children who are homeless has risen by 17%.

The number of people in emergency accommodation the previous month was 13,866, which had been a record number.

In light of the figures, Focus Ireland has called on the Government to accept and implement the recommendations recently published in a report by the Housing Commission it established.

The report found that several decades of interventions in the housing sector have not solved "fundamentally systemic failures".

The report also suggests a radical strategic reset of housing policy as the only solution which will work.

Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said: “Focus Ireland has always argued that homelessness is a solvable problem, and an expert group which the Government itself established has now provided a pathway to solving homelessness along with the wider housing problem experienced by so many families across the country.

“Focus Ireland and others across the sector have been clear in welcoming the commission’s report but the Government’s response has been far less clear.

“Focus Ireland recognises progress that has been made in delivering more social housing, but things are moving far too slowly for the over 4,000 children who are homeless in Ireland.

Their lives should not be put on hold while the Government responds defensively when offered a pathway to a much more effective approach to providing homes in the social, affordable, and home-ownership sectors.

Of the 14,009 homeless people accessing local authority managed emergency accommodation, 66% were single adults.

More 6,000 men and some 3,777 women were accessing emergency accommodation during that period.

More than half of adults accessing emergency accommodation are aged between 25 to 44.

Wayne Stanley, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, described the figures as “shameful”.

“The strength and depth of the analysis of the problems in social housing delivery, that the recently published Housing Commission report addresses, is commendable as is the joined up thinking of the proposed solutions,” Mr Stanley said.

“What we need to see now is the implementation of these solutions.

“In a week’s time, every local authority in the country will have a council made up of elected representatives with a new mandate, and Government must work with each of them to progress more homes for those at risk of and experiencing homelessness.

“The Simon Communities across Ireland, are seeing first-hand the devastating effects of the housing crisis on the most vulnerable members of our society.

“Every day, we meet men, women and families who are struggling to find a secure, affordable home.

“The issues that need to be addressed are clear.

“The opportunities for valuable progress have to be positively grasped.”