THE NUMBER of people sleeping rough in Dublin has increased this year despite a Government pledge to end the need for homeless people to sleep on the streets of the capital by the end of the year.
The Homeless Agency’s annual street count for rough sleepers, which was conducted on a single night in November, found 70 people sleeping rough in Dublin, up from the 60 people in 2009.
The agency said yesterday it has made a major effort to accommodate all rough sleepers during the recent period of cold weather. But it said at least seven individuals had refused all offers of emergency hostel accommodation.
“Some rough sleepers refuse to be accommodated. They tend to have very complex needs and some have mental health issues . . . The question is can we keep those who have engaged with services off the streets and address their needs,” said Cathal Morgan, director of the Homeless Agency.
The rough sleeper count found 54 men and eight women sleeping rough. The sex of a further eight individuals could not be identified as they were asleep when found by outreach teams doing the survey.
The number of Irish people sleeping rough increased significantly to 35 this year, up from 23 last year.
The survey found 17 migrants sleeping rough, down from 24 in 2009. But there was a high number (18) of unknown nationalities in this year’s survey, which could indicate the number of foreign migrants is higher.
The most common age group living on the streets is between 18 years and 30 years of age with 21 people sleeping rough. There were three people over 61 years of age sleeping rough on the streets.
The age of 24 people could not be identified by an estimated 100 surveyors, who undertook the agency’s survey between 1am and 5am on a night in November.
Mr Morgan said it was “disappointing” that the number of people sleeping rough had increased as the general trend has been downwards in recent years.
He said it was critically important the Government maintained financial support to address homelessness in Dublin. He said the key to meeting its commitment to end long term homelessness and the need to sleep rough was the provision of housing for new tenancies.
The Government’s Pathway to Home strategy aims to eliminate long-term homelessness and the need for rough sleeping by the end of the year. This strategy envisages phasing out 1,000 emergency beds in hostels and bed and breakfasts throughout the greater Dublin area and replacing them with 1,200 long-term tenancies.
However, so far it has failed to deliver the housing required to create the new tenancies.
Focus Ireland chief executive Joyce Loughnan said there had been a failure by successive governments to provide the homes needed to end homelessness.
“As we face into an election it is vital that these issues are firmly on the agenda for all parties. The next government needs to urgently set tight new timeframe for meeting the targets to end homelessness and the need to sleep rough so that the vision that these problems can be actually solved is not lost,” she said.
ON THE STREET: CASE STUDY
John (not his real name) began sleeping rough at the age of nine when he was thrown out of the family home. He has spent two decades fighting drug addiction and trying to stabilise his life to get his own home. At the Focus Ireland coffee shop in Temple Bar, he explains how he ended up living on the streets.
"My mum and dad didn't get the parenting right. I was sleeping rough from the age of nine in Dublin. I slept in what was left of burned-out cars at times and sometimes when I was lucky got a bed with friends in their houses.
"I lived without any food for days at a time and I was finally taken into care at the age of 13 years. By then I had developed a heroin addiction and was involved in joyriding and was a difficult kid.
"I had three different foster parents in my teens but they didn't really work out. I was sleeping rough at times and getting into trouble. When I was 21 years old I was sent to prison for seven years.
"I got clean in prison, and when I got out I got myself a stonemason apprenticeship. I found a job and had a stable life with a partner and my son in Cork. But I had some bad news and ended up back on the gear again. The missus threw me out of the house and I ended up back on the street last year.
"It is pretty dangerous living on the streets and at the moment it is very, very cold. One night when I was sleeping in the doorway of McDonalds, some drunk guys grabbed my friend by the feet and dragged him down the street.
"The hostels are full of drugs and can be rough when people drink. I prefer to sleep on the streets with a friend if I can. But my friend was put away recently so I'm living in an emergency hostel right now.
"I beg on the streets sometimes to make money. It's not easy. Some days I beg from 9am in the morning to 5pm in the afternoon and make less than €10. Other days you can do far better.
"In five years' time I'd love to be back working and have a roof over my head. I miss working so much and want to take pride in what I do. I'd like to do a forklift truck driving course, but to do that I need to be clean so I'm not forced to go to the methadone clinic.
"It is really difficult to escape homelessness because you don't know anyone who isn't homeless. You don't have social networks to help you. I had to go into prison last time to get away from drugs."
(John's name has been changed to protect his identity)