Ó Ríordáin calls homeless crisis “a legacy of shame”

Dublin MEP and Labour Party Spokesperson for Dublin, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has slammed what he calls “government inaction” on the homeless crisis, calling the crisis a “legacy of shame.”

Ó Ríordáin said the latest figures are “unfathomable.”

“There are now 3,434 kids living in homelessness in Dublin. That’s 3,434 children without stability, security, or the basic dignity of a home. It is 3,434 stolen futures. The number of homeless children across Ireland has risen by 50 in just one month, and yet this government continues to look the other way.”

In March 2018, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told an Oireachtas committee that nationwide homeless figures, which were creeping up to 10,000 at the time, were a “disturbing” figure and declared homelessness a national emergency.

Over 7 years later, the homeless figures have consistently broken all-time records, with the figures spiking after the government lifted a ban on no-fault evictions in March 2023.

“I’d like to see a bit less concern in government for the rights of Michael Lowry and a lot more concern for these children, who are paying the price for political failure,” Ó Ríordáin said.

The Labour MEP said “we shouldn’t be surprised” about the figures, stating “this government has shown zero interest in Dublin, its people, and its development. We are now witnessing a full-blown social catastrophe in our capital.”

In April 2016, the final month in which Labour held the brief of Minister for Housing, the nationwide figure was 6.906 people living in emergency accommodation, with 4,592 of that figure being Dublin-based.

Nearly a decade on, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael both taking turns running the Ministry for Housing, the most recent figures showed 15,378 people availed of homeless services across Ireland last month, up from the previous all-time record of 15,286.

Of that figure, 10,948 are Dublin-based, over double of what the figure was in 2016.

“In Labour, we have put forward real solutions, including transforming the Land Development Agency into a State Construction Company to deliver social and affordable housing at the scale required to tackle this crisis.”

“At a European level, I have been working in the new European Parliament Housing Committee, to push for stronger protections for renters – through EU wide action on “no-fault evictions”; for greater investment in public housing, through reformed state aid rules; and an EU-wide strategy to combat homelessness – to meet the goal of eliminating homelessness by 2030 set down in the Lisbon Declaration.

“Housing is a fundamental right, and while this Government turns a blind eye, Labour is fighting in Ireland and across the EU to make that right a reality.”