Demand for services for the homeless in Dublin did not abate over the millennium holiday, according to those providing hostel accommodation and other services.

All the hostels answering their phones yesterday reported full houses over the holiday, and it is likely that those closed during the day were also in high demand. This would mean that between 700 and 800 people were sleeping in hostels for the homeless, while several hundred more slept in B & B accommodation or on the streets.

The Simon Community hostel on Usher's Island has 30 beds, and started to allocate them for the holiday period on the morning of December 24th. "Between 10 and 20 people were queuing outside from early that morning to get a bed, and people were coming to the door all day," said a spokeswoman.

The Back Lane hostel, which has 75 beds, reported its busiest time as New Year's Eve. Although it was not able to accommodate everyone who sought a bed, it was able to find something somewhere for them.

The Morning Star hostel filled all its 68 beds, but did not report queues. "Some people find long-lost relatives at Christmas," said a spokesman.

The 166 beds in the Iveagh hostel were also taken, though some of their regular residents went to relatives for a few days. "We would have held onto their rooms," said a spokeswoman.

Oak House, in Benburb Street, which accommodates 34, was also full and could have taken more people if it had room. It managed to accommodate them in other hostels. The same was true of the Salvation Army hostel in York Street, off St Stephen's Green. Its 92 beds were full, and there were a lot of inquiries from people they could not accommodate.

This hostel also provides breakfast for people sleeping rough, and there was an increase in demand. About 15 came in for breakfast, of whom six or seven were regulars, according to a spokeswoman.

The Regina Coeli hostel for homeless women had about 70 single women over the holiday, and about 10 mothers with children. None of the hostels allows couples to stay together.

Many homeless families, therefore, are accommodated in bed and breakfasts. About 300 families were in B & B accommodation in the Dublin area in the period coming up to Christmas. The figure for families who used this kind of accommodation for 1999 was 2,225, double the number for 1998.

Hostels do not allow drinking or drug-taking on their premises, so many homeless people who abuse drugs or alcohol do not use them. The newly homeless or nervous do not either, as there can be violence there. The total number sleeping rough is unknown, but runs to several hundred, of whom between 40 and 50 are under 18, according to Father Peter McVerry.

A typical example of those sleeping rough might be the polite young man who started living in a doorless garage a few days before Christmas. He said he had left home because of "family problems".