Homeless figures in Ireland hit 12,600

The latest homeless figures for Ireland show that 12,600 people in Ireland are homeless, marking an increase from May’s figures.

There were 5,880 single adults and 1,804 families accessing emergency accommodation in the month, including 3,765 children under the age of 18.

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community said “these latest figures are deeply confronting.”

“There is real trauma and suffering taking place for the 9,265 people behind today’s statistics (65% of whom are spending six months or longer in emergency accommodation), and that is unacceptable.

“Homelessness prevention must occur in tandem with the ongoing delivery of housing supply – it is not audacious to suggest that homelessness can be ended in Ireland,” she said.

“Dublin Simon is ending homelessness for people every day and delivering essential services on the frontline of this crisis. Our staff play an integral role in the provision of care to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, but the State does not provide adequate funding to ensure that they are afforded comparable salaries, benefits, increments or pensions as their public sector counterparts.”

Housing minister Darragh O’Brien said the figures represent a “very challenging but the Government, local authorities and those in our NGO sectors are working together and making every effort to reduce homelessness – this issue is a Government priority.

Speaking after the eviction ban was lifted in March, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said “at best, an eviction ban reduces homelessness in the short-term but it probably doesn’t even do that.”

“What it does do is make it worse in the medium-term; when you lift the ban, you’ve a glut of eviction notices that then get affected and then in the long-term it makes it even worse again.”