Who to blame for homeless crisis

I WAS surprised to read of the Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne’s recent comments criticising homeless service providers for the fact that the number of homeless in the city has not declined in recent years.

As the lord mayor pointed out, the recently released figures from the Homeless Agency indicate that there are 2,714 people homeless in Dublin. This is a 4% increase from the last comparable survey in 2005.

The lord mayor is correct in highlighting the fact that a large number of these people are trapped in emergency accommodation. In addition to the human impact of living in temporary accommodation, the cost to the exchequer is significant.