More than 11,600 people including almost 3,500 children were accessing emergency accommodation during the week leading up to Christmas, the latest homeless report reveals.
In Dublin alone, there were 5,793 people who found themselves without a home this Christmas, including 2,583 children. While the figures are similar to those for November last year, there is still a slight increase of 0.8 per cent which represents a record high in numbers for the sixth consecutive month.
Homeless charity Depaul's chief David Carroll said in response to latest report: “Numbers in homelessness remain at worrying levels and targeted measures are needed to tackle the scale of the homelessness and housing crisis we are currently facing at this juncture.”
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Depaul is calling for a short extension of the eviction ban to allow for breathing space to put specific plans in place to target tenancies subject to a notice to quit. Mr Carroll added: “Depaul Housing pressures are relentless and landlords who have signalled a notice to quit must be targeted in an effort to keep property owners in the market or to sell them to housing bodies.
“To see a meaningful reduction in homelessness, and to anticipate the rise in homelessness that may come about as a result of the eviction ban ending, housing allocations for 2023 should prioritise families currently experiencing long-term homelessness – temporary accommodation is not the solution.
“We are at a pivotal point at this time and there is a critical need to accelerate the provision of emergency accommodation to accommodate IPAS applicants. The government has a responsibility to meet this basic humanitarian need. The capacity does not exist within the homeless sector to provide emergency accommodation for this group.”
Sinn Fein spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD also said the government is going to have to consider extending the eviction ban. “This is the first time homelessness has risen in December for some time,” he said. “The fact that it has happened while the winter ban on evictions is in place is deeply disturbing.
“Darragh O’Brien has abjectly failed to use the breathing space provided by the eviction ban to increase and accelerate the delivery of social homes. In fact he has not even met his initial 2022 social housing targets. Unless something dramatic happens in terms of social housing supply in February and March, the government is going to have to consider extending the eviction ban.
“The ever-rising level of adult and child homelessness required an emergency response from the government, including using emergency planning powers, suspending procurement rules and the use of modular building technologies. This is the only way to increase and accelerate the delivery of much needed permanent social homes.”
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