Homeless crisis getting worse, says Doolan

Sinn Féin councillor and European election candidate Daithí Doolan, Sinn Féin Leader has said that for every day Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government, the worse Dublin’s homeless crisis gets.

Doolan was responding to statistics released by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive confirming that there are 10,180 people homeless in Dublin.

This marks an increase of 1,415 over the past year, with 543 of those being children.

Doolan called the situation “totally unacceptable” and called on Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to “wake up”.

“Minister O’Brien needs to wake up to the fact that the policies he is pursuing are the cause of this crisis.

“Homeless services are overstretched and underfunded. Extra funding must be immediately released to ensure these services can meet these new demands,” Doolan said.

Doolan stated that Ireland could end the housing crisis “if we have the right policies,” and at present, government “continues to pursue failed housing policies.

“The housing crisis is causing misery for people. Every day that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government, the worse the housing and homeless crises get. They continually miss housing targets and fail to deliver the change that is needed.”

“We urgently need a government that tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness. The solution is that we have a government that provides adequate funding to local authorities to build council and affordable housing that actually meets the housing needs of Dublin.”