Homelessness has hit a new record, with the latest statistics released by the Government showing that 11,542 people are living in emergency accommodation.
Figures from the Department of Housing reveal 3,494 of them are children. The majority of these children – more than 2,500 – are growing up in emergency accommodation in Dublin. There are also 5,655 homeless adults registered in the capital.
The figures are over 10,000 for the eight month in a row. Compared to the report for October, it shows there are 131 additional homeless adults and 14 children.
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The report also reveals the majority of homeless people are aged between 25 and 44 years, while young adults make up 1,371 of the homeless. Meanwhile, 169 are elderly people.
Most of them find shelter in Private Emergency Accommodation, which includes hotels, B&Bs and other residentials, as well as Supported Temporary Accommodation, which includes family hubs, hostels, with onsite professional support. The figures from the Department of Housing don't include refugees, asylum seekers, women in refuge centres or rough sleepers.
The figures are usually released at the end of each month, but November's total was delayed because of Christmas. November's total is a 1.2 percent increase on the figures given for October, and is over 10,000 for the eighth month in a row.
Dublin Simon Community chief Catherine Kenny said the charity is “dismayed” by the increase and the “spiralling” figures convey “nothing short of a tragedy”.
She said: “Homelessness is harmful, and the damage it wreaks is irreparable. Research commissioned by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has shown that mortality rates are three to 10 times higher for women experiencing homelessness, and six to 10 times higher for men experiencing homelessness.
"Across homeless services, homeless individuals aged 55 and over are considered to be elderly due to their diminished standard of health, physically presenting as ten to twenty years older than their actual age.”
She added the growing cohort of older people who were homeless was “deeply troubling”, and they are seeing a 36 per cent increase in the number of people aged 65 and older entering into emergency accommodation. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of people aged between 45 and 64.
“Their fear is palpable as they try to cope with the stark reality of becoming homeless in older age, and are faced with navigating a very complex system. As we enter into a new year, many will worry what will become of them.” Ireland’s homelessness crisis has become “a juggernaut”, she also said, breaking records “for all the wrong reasons”. “[It] is simply unacceptable in a first world country with a successful economy.”
Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan said “we need to start treating this like a national emergency”. She added: “The government’s half measures to control rents, to address the crisis in evictions or to provide sufficient levels of affordable housing have exacerbated these problems."
Calling the homeless crisis “the greatest societal issue of our time”, she also said: “We know that most people who enter homelessness come from the private rental market which is why government intervention is so desperately needed. We know from figures released by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) last week that people have nowhere to go if they are being evicted and they are overstaying which can pose other problems.”
Peter McVerry Trust CEO Pat Doyle said every opportunity needs to be utilised, including bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as new homes. “Peter McVerry Trust is committed to expanding our Housing First programme – giving entrenched rough sleepers not only the key to their own door but also the supports they need to keep, maintain and retain their tenancy.
“Housing First is key to the long-term reduction of homelessness. We can’t afford to be downbeat or frustrated, there are too many people in need of solutions and that’s where our energy has to be focused.”
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