The number of people in homeless accommodation in the State has reached another record high and is now at almost 15,000 people.
There were 14,966 people homeless in October, consisting of 10,321 adults and 4,645 children under the age of 18, from 2,161 families.
It amounts to an increase of 1.4 per cent on the 14,760 people accessing emergency accommodation in September.
The homelessness figures have increased year on year by 13.5 per cent. There were 13,179 people in homelessness in October last year.
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At the time of the last general election in February 2020, there were 10,148 homeless people. In the lifetime of the present Government, the number of homeless people has increased by 47.4 per cent.
[ Housing and cost of living dominated public debate in election campaignOpens in new window ]
Of the adults accessing emergency accommodation, 61 per cent are male and 39 per cent female. Some 227 adults accessing emergency accommodation were over the age of 65.
In October, 53 per cent or 5,376 of the adults in emergency accommodation were Irish; 2,263, (22 per cent) were EU/UK citizens and 2,560 (25 per cent) were from the rest of the world.
Of those from the rest of the world, 2,181 or 85 per cent are accessing accommodation in the Dublin region. Dublin accounts for 7,313 or 72 per cent of the total number of adults accessing emergency accommodation.
Of the 2,133 families in emergency accommodation, 1,247 (or 58 per cent) were from single parent families.
Opposition parties, especially Sinn Féin, had called for the figures to be published in advance of polling day in the general election.
However, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien had said the publication of the figures were set for the last Friday of every month at 2pm.
“The figures are published after they have been filed by every local authority and checked and verified by the Department. This is done independent of the Minister.”
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the latest rise demonstrates the country needs a change of Government.
“Once again, the number of adults, children, single people, and families without a home has increased,” he said.
“And this just weeks after the Government announced its record giveaway budget. As people go to the polls throughout today, they should ask themselves do they want another five years of rising homelessness. Because that is what they will get it Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael go back into government.”
Social Democrats deputy leader and housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan described the figures as a “monumental failure” on the part of the Government that has “devastating consequences for people’s lives”.
He added: “We are not a country starved of resources. The outgoing Government has had record budget surpluses while simultaneously breaking the homelessness record 24 times.
“This constant rise in homelessness is not inevitable – it is the direct result of failed policies from a Government that refused to treat the housing crisis like the emergency that it is.”
Simon Communities of Ireland interim executive director Tony Geoghegan said the outgoing Government has made commitments to end homelessness, but the “problems continue unabated”.
He added: “The new Government must commit to end homelessness and the need to sleep rough by 2030. This will require an all of government approach that encompasses increased investment in public and social housing, homeless prevention, and health and social care supports for those experiencing homelessness.”
Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said the issue of homelessness was “notably absent from the political discourse during this campaign” and the proposals by the various parties were “vague and aspirational”.
He noted there were much fewer references to homelessness in the party manifestos than there were in 2020.
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