The number of homeless people in Ireland increased by 1.5 per cent last month, as the State once again recorded the highest figure of homeless ever reached in the State, according to the Department of Housing.
In total, there were 12,441 individuals who accessed emergency accommodation as 182 further homeless people were recorded from April of this year. The latest figure is an increase of over 20 per cent on the 10,347 homeless people recorded in Ireland in May 2022.
Included in the most recent numbers are 3,699 children, an increase of 105 (2.9 per cent) on the 3,594 recorded in April 2023. Over 1,700 families accessed emergency accommodation in May, 404 more than the number recorded in May of last year.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said he was disappointed by the increase in homelessness this month, but “unfortunately not surprised”.
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“We are increasing supply [of housing] across the country, that is having an impact. We’re exiting more people into permanent homes,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Mr O’Brien said the increase is “significantly less” than has been seen in recent months, and while that is to be welcomed “that is no consolation for those who find themselves in emergency accommodation”.
“We are turning a corner on housing delivery. We are seeing first-time buyers being able to buy homes now at the highest rate since 2007, affordable homes for the first time in a generation,” he said.
“There were always going to be challenges. Housing for All is a year-and-a-half old. We were not going to be able to reverse a trend of decreased supply and a dearth of delivery over the previous decade, but we’re catching up on that.”
Mr O’Brien acknowledged that some people entering emergency accommodation are coming from the private rental sector but said the decision to end the moratorium on evictions was “a difficult one but absolutely the correct one”.
Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy Mike Allen says that the decision to allow the eviction ban to come to an end earlier this year is still having a direct effect on the increase in numbers. “As the eviction ban ended, we anticipated a surge in homelessness, and these figures regrettably confirm our concerns,” said Mr Allen.
“It is terrible to see a 30 per cent rise in family homelessness since this time last year. It feels as if the shocking monthly increases in homelessness have stunned the country and left us unable to take action. But this is not inevitable and perhaps we should start by looking at what we can do for the children who are homeless with their families.
“The Government also needs to introduce legislation that requires local authorities to prioritise the best interests of the child in cases of homelessness. It is essential that the interests of the child are considered a matter of urgency when families seek assistance, ensuring their wellbeing and stability.
“This legislation should compel local authorities to provide families with safe and secure accommodation, offering the support and protection they desperately need.”
According to Department of Housing figures, 350 families in Dublin were accommodated in hotels and B&Bs on May 30th. This is an increase of 21 on the 329 families in April 2023, and a 119 per cent increase on the 160 that were recorded in May 2022.
According to Catherine Kenny, CEO of the Dublin Simon Community, the 9,160 people in emergency accommodation in Dublin in May represents a 23 per cent increase over the last 12 months.
“On one night in June, 25 per cent of Dublin Simon’s emergency beds were occupied by workers,” said Ms Kenny. “They were cleaners, event and retail security staff, taxi drivers, van drivers and lorry drivers, scaffolders, electricians and construction workers, healthcare assistants and carers, shop workers and retail staff, barbers and bar workers.
“The lack of exits from homelessness into accommodation also means that people are becoming stuck in homeless services indefinitely, exacerbating the bottleneck in the system and creating distress for the individuals affected.
“We need fully resourced tenancy sustainment services, homelessness prevention teams to be established in each local authority, and a review of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to reflect market rates, to occur in conjunction with the longer-term plan to increase housing supply.”
Francis Doherty, CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust, has called into question the type and size of social housing currently being delivered by the Government. “Almost 50 per cent of the people in homelessness last month needed a one bed home, no other house type comes anywhere near that figure,” explained Mr Doherty. “This week if you looked at the total number of one-bedroom homes to buy on the market on daft.ie or myhome.ie of any type or price there are just around 600 nationally.
“So even if we bought every single one of those homes tomorrow you are only securing 10 per cent of the homes we need to tackle the needs of single homeless people in May.
“The State is spending enormous amounts on housing and enabling widespread housing delivery by the private sector, Land Development Agency, local authorities and approved housing bodies. Where the State is enabling these housing projects through funding mechanisms and other means it needs to ensure that these schemes include adequate numbers of one-bedroom homes. If not, then we are designing future housing delivery to exclude or under deliver for the greater social housing need.”
“At the end of the day, special needs social housing providers like Peter McVerry Trust, even with our ambition to deliver more homes that ever before, will only ever be able to provide a portion of the homes needed to tackle homelessness.
“There must be greater delivery by other entities and agencies if we are to get people out of homelessness and ultimately offer more housing choice for single people so as to avoid them becoming homeless as well.”
