The number of children and adults relying on emergency accommodation for shelter in Dublin has increased by 65, according to the latest homelessness report.
Thousands more people are expected to be at risk of homelessness when the ban on no-fault evictions ends tomorrow. Homeless charity Simon Community has said there is no rental accommodation for these people to move into.
A total of 8,588 people accessed emergency accommodation in the last week of February. Of these, 2,576 were children and 6,012 were adults.
Read more: No homes to rent for those facing eviction, homeless charity says
In January, there were 5,946 adults and 2,577 children relying on emergency accommodation for shelter. A total of 8,523 people were homeless in the last week of January.
Depaul Chief Executive David Carroll said it is "heartbreaking" that so many people are homeless.
He said: “It is heartbreaking that the number of people accessing temporary accommodation remains high and we know that these figures published today do not reflect the scale of homelessness expected in the next few weeks and months as the eviction ban lifts.
“We are very anxious of what may come in the next few weeks and we are focusing on a number of aspects that may occur - one of which is the health impact of the removal of the eviction ban.
“Depaul’s prevention teams in the community are identifying specific vulnerabilities and stories have begun to emerge in the last number of weeks of more 50-60 year old single men who have been served their notices to quit and have nowhere to go.”
Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O'Broin said the increase in Dublin was "worrying". He said: "The ban on no-fault evictions resulted in a further decline in family presentations last month with 10 fewer families and 58 fewer children in emergency accommodation.
"However the figures also show an increase of 66 single people and 13 pensioners in emergency accommodation in February. There is also a worrying increase in overall homeless levels in Dublin.
"What these figures show is that the ban on no fault evictions was having a positive impact, stabilising the number of people in emergency accommodation. Despite this, the government is determined to end this crucial protection for renters today.
"Thousands of households are now at risk of losing the roof over their heads and the government still cannot answer one simple question - where are people to go?"
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