The number of people homeless has reached another record high, surpassing 16,500 for the first time, including more than 5,200 children – another landmark high – latest figures show.
The monthly homeless report from the Department of Housing, published on Friday, shows there were 16,614 people in emergency accommodation during the week of September 22nd to 28th.
These included 5,238 children in 2,443 families.
These numbers do not include people in domestic violence refuges, sofa surfing, in international protection accommodation despite having refugees status, in overcrowded housing or sleeping rough.
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The data suggests that 261 additional people became homeless compared with the previous month and the new numbers represent a 13 per cent increase over the past year. Child homelessness has climbed by even more, at 15 per cent over the same period.
Speaking in Cork, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was very concerned about the homeless situation. He said additional funding secured in the Budget by Minister for Housing James Browne to prioritise families in emergency accommodation will yield results this year.
“It’s much more complex now in terms of what’s happening in the homeless area, there’s increasing evidence that as people move out of direct provision and with family reunification, some are falling into homelessness, which is something we’ve got to review.
“But in terms of the composition and the nature of homelessness, it is much different now than it would have been five or 10 years ago but that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to do everything we possibly can to deal with it.”
“Make no mistake about it – this is a human crisis,” said the chief executive of Focus Ireland, Pat Dennigan. “However, we must remember there is much good work being done to both prevent and end homelessness for every day. It is important to keep sight of this as it is living proof that it is possible to end and prevent homelessness with the right approach, support and housing.”
He stressed that despite ongoing efforts to tackle the crisis, the “current measures are insufficient as the numbers homeless continue to rise every month”.
Mr Dennigan said the Government’s new housing and homelessness plan, which is due in November “must include a radical shift in policy to ensure more is done to prevent homelessness by targeted measures to keep people in their homes. This would cut the constant rise in numbers becoming homeless every month and allow more to be done to move more households out of homelessness.”
He highlighted the more than 5,200 children living in emergency accommodation “whose childhoods are being stolen day by day. These are real children not just statistics and it is wrong and unacceptable that this continues to get worse every month. We can and must change this.”
Focus Ireland called on the Government to increase social housing output to meet the new target of 12,000 homes per year, with a focus on strategies that will reduce long-term homelessness.
The charity also highlighted the need to align social housing provision with the real needs of the population, including building more one-bedroom units for single adults and larger homes for families.
And it also called for prioritising new social housing projects in urban areas where homelessness is most acute.
The Simon Communities of Ireland expressed grave concern at the latest figures and said the number of children being forced to experience the trauma of homelessness was “staggering”.
“Successive governments have failed the children of Ireland and should be ashamed that 5,238 children are living in emergency accommodation,” said Ber Grogan, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland.
“Children should be thinking about dressing up and going trick or treating, not wondering where they’ll sleep tonight. Families should be planning fun activities – not counting how many nights they have left in an emergency bed. Young people should be starting their lives, not starting adulthood in homelessness.”
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