Family homelessness a ‘traumatic breach’ of children’s rights says Ombudsman

A move away from local authority house construction has pushed more and more children into economic homelessness, causing a ‘traumatic breach’ of their rights, the Children’s Ombudsman said today.

Dr Niall Muldoon insisted numerous Governments must take responsibility for children and young people spending their formative years in emergency accommodation.

He was speaking as he aofficially opened Houben House, a family hub run by The Salvation Army in Dublin’s Harold’s Cross and which accommodates 350 parents and their children.

“The fact that we are now here within this great facility, which is full to capacity, shows that the State has failed to live up to its promise from 2017 to prevent the use of any emergency accommodation by 2018, except in very exceptional cases,” he said.

“The move away from local authority housing during the economic crash has led to a situation now where we are consistently failing more and more children and families who are falling, rarely due to any fault of theirs, into economic homelessness.

“That is a most traumatic breach of children’s rights and something for which numerous different Governments must take responsibility.”

The country’s largest family homeless hub, Houben House houses 62 families – 17 Irish and 45 from countries including Somalia, Romania, Germany and South Africa.

The youngest resident is a newborn baby boy.

The complex, operating since 2020 but its official opening delayed by Covid-19, spans across four floors and includes 62 rooms, a library, sensory playroom, extensive kitchens, laundry rooms, dining room and outdoor courtyard for a modern play area.

When a family arrives there, they are met by a keyworker who supports them and also offers employment and housing workshops and programs to help towards long-term, independent living.

Dr Muldoon paid tribute to The Salvation Army for trying to create a home setting, security and guidance for families.

“Within the limitations of the model they appear to have done extremely well over the past four years,” he said.

Latest homeless figures for June show that 14,303 individuals were accessing emergency accommodation, including 2,093 families and 4,404 children under 18.

Anthony Byrne, Houben House’s Service Manager, told the official opening that The Salvation Army’s vision is that no child or family in Ireland presents as homeless – but Ireland is veering “further away from that vision every day”.

With the support of Dublin City Council, the charity has helped 158 families into new homes.

“Most of the families that come to us have experienced homelessness due to the cost of living and a lack of social and affordable housing,” said Mr Byrne.

“It is a circumstance that any of us here today could find ourselves facing.”

He said the charity has implemented a 10-year homeless services strategy, taking a ‘trauma informed’ approach to build safety and trust and restore residents’ confidence.

All of Houben House’s adult residents are offered pathways to finding work through an employment plus programme – last year, 26 residents successfully gained employment after completing the course.