REPORTS that the number of homeless families being put up in hotels by local authorities is increasing have sparked an angry response from a local TD.
It’s estimated that over 170 homeless families are now living in hotels across the capital despite Dublin City Council admitting recently that it wasn’t a
“sustainable solution
? to the problem.
The reports follow calls earlier this month for the creation of a National Housing Strategy from Peter McVerry Trust and condemnation of the practice of placing homeless families in hotels from the St Vincent de Paul.
Dublin North West TD, Dessie Ellis, told Northside People he regularly dealt with families across the city who have been put up in hotels once they become homeless.
“Many of these families have felt completely insecure in this housing and in some cases hotels have decided not to allow families to continue staying there,
? he said.
“Recently I had to work with a family who were forced to walk the streets after a hotel put them out.
“Some people are in these hotels for three to four weeks at a time. I have worked with people who have had to stay in them for two months or more until the hotel said they would throw them out and the council had to act.
?
The Sinn Fein TD said placing homeless families in hotels was also a massive drain on resources.
“If these hotel rooms, and some families require more than one, cost a modest average of e80 it costs e14,000 a night or e98,000 a week to accommodate them all.
“This is wildly in excess of what it would cost to house these families immediately if the Government had the courage and political will to do this.
?
Last month the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) described the placement of homeless families as
“unacceptable and inappropriate
? and claimed there was recently 19 families in one Dublin hotel alone, ranging from a lone parent with one child to a family of nine.
“The situation is critical in the four Dublin local authority areas,
? said SVP Head of Social Justice, John-Mark McCafferty.
“It is utterly unacceptable that families are accommodated in this way. Confined to a hotel room puts a huge burden on families in terms of normal living conditions.
“While bed and breakfast is provided the families have to rely on take-away food for other meals and have difficulty in getting children to and from schools.
“There are also issues around child welfare. It is completely inappropriate to have children living and moving around in a hotel environment for an extended period.
“Many of the families living in such conditions are there because of difficulties with private landlords, many of whom no longer accept tenants on supplementary rent allowance, due to the increased level of demand for private rented housing.
“Indeed, some of the families living in hotels report their rent having been increased arbitrarily by 25 per cent or landlords evicting them on the basis of the house being sold, only to see it later available for rent.
“The families we visit and support in Dublin hotels, also have the uncertainty of not knowing when they will have to move – often at short notice. Some families have been in a hotel for up to six months while others are moved from hotel to hotel more frequently.
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DCC recently told Northside People that it would be putting in extra staff resources to respond to the needs of families in hotels.
“We provide in-reach support via the Homeless Action Team (HAT), a dedicated children and families team that works to progress these households on as soon as possible,
? a spokesperson said.
“We will be establishing additional supported accommodation for families, as we don’t see hotel use as a sustainable solution.
?
DCC confirmed that the vast majority of families now presenting to homeless services are coming from the private rental sector with rent supplement arrangements.