Number of people in emergency accommodation could fill Hill 16

The number of people in emergency accommodation in Ireland could fill Croke Park’s Hill 16, according to statistics from Dublin Simon Community.

The latest homeless figures released today by the Department of Housing reveal that the number of people in emergency accommodation continues to rise with 14,303 nationally and 10,396 in Dublin, representing a Dublin increase of 12% year-on-year.

The Dublin total of 10,396 represents 1,496 families, 3,285 children, and 4,544 single adults.

These figures do not include those rough sleeping, people in domestic violence shelters, refugees, and those seeking asylum.   

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon, sharply criticised the government’s lack of progress and action regarding the ongoing homelessness crisis.

“The steady increase in emergency accommodation numbers, coupled with a rise in rough sleeping, paints a dire picture of our failure to protect the most vulnerable. While the government has recently acknowledged the severity of the issue by calling it their ‘number one challenge’, we need to ensure this urgency is reflected in political momentum and resourcing allocated to homelessness, housing, health.”

She noted that with “no guarantee” that homeless figures will decrease before the general election, there is an “urgent need for comprehensive, coordinated action to address the root causes of homelessness and alleviate the strain on emergency accommodation resources.”

“Dublin Simon Community calls on the government and relevant agencies to prioritise immediate measures that will tangibly reduce homelessness and provide sustainable housing options for all.  It is not enough to say that housing is a challenge in this country – we all know it is – the question is what the government intends to do about it in the months before we go to the polls. The time for action is now,” she said.

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said the figures increasing for the third month in a row is “unfortunate.”

“The June 2024 report unfortunately records a further increase in the number of individuals accessing emergency accommodation. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a top priority for this Government. My Department continues to work closely with local authorities and their service delivery partners in the provision of this support to enable households to secure an exit to a tenancy or to avoid entering emergency accommodation in the first place.

The latest homelessness figures are further proof that the Government is completely out of ideas when it comes to tackling the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.

O’Callaghan noted that there has been a 66% increase in children in homelessness since the current Government took charge in June 2020.

“There can be no doubts that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are incapable of dealing with this crisis. Since taking office in 2011, Fine Gael has presided over an increase of 10,495 people becoming homeless.”

“Fianna Fáil, despite their endless political spin, have continued the appalling record of their predecessors since taking over the Department of Housing.”

“These figures comes in the wake of most recent RTB Notices of Termination report which showed another 4,035 people are facing eviction and at risk of homelessness since the beginning of April.

“We urgently need to end no-fault evictions that are driving renters into homelessness. Ireland remains an outlier in Europe where renters must live in constant fear of eviction.”

“We cannot sit back and watch more and more people go through the trauma of becoming homeless; there are tragic consequences to the Government’s inaction,” he said.