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THE NUMBER OF homeless people in the state fell by more than 3% last month but the Simon Community is warning that the reduction is masking a spike in the number of single people entering homelessness.
Statistics released by the Department of Housing today show that there were 8,200 people, including dependents, homeless in December 2020. The figure represents a fall from 8,484 the previous month.
A total of 4,447 of the homeless people were single adults who are not part of a family unit. This number represents more than 75% of homeless adults and is an 8.6% increase on pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels in December 2019.
The stats show that 970 families were in emergency accommodation, a 37% drop on pre-pandemic levels and the lowest number since March 2016.
The CEO of Dublin Simon Community, Sam McGuinness, said single homelessness remains “frustratingly high” and the charity warned that the “alarming rise” in single homelessness is being overshadowed by an overall reduction in homelessness figures.
“The bottom line remains that there are still more single people presenting as newly homeless each day than there are moving out of the bulging emergency system and into long-term accommodation,” McGuinness said.
This has to change, and we must make it our urgent priority for 2021.
The charity said that prices in the private rental market “remain consistently unaffordable, particularly for single people.”
“We are deeply concerned that when Ireland exits this third lockdown period and the current moratorium on evictions is lifted, the lack of affordability in our housing system will see the numbers of people being pushed into homelessness increase again,” the charity’s national spokesperson, Wayne Stanley, said.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien said the figures show that “significant progress” was made in addressing homelessness in 2020.
“The numbers in emergency accommodation fell by almost 16% over the past year. Family homelessness is at its lowest level since March 2016. Within these families, we have lowest number of dependants recorded as homeless since June 2016,” he said.
Minister O’Brien said that homelessness remains “unacceptably high” and added that his long-term vision is to have more social and affordable homes with much fewer people in emergency accommodation.
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54% of adults aged 18-34 are living with their parents.
FG and FF have failed miserably to address the housing crisis. Combined they got 43% of the vote in the last election.
We need to get this down to about 35% at the next election.
FF and FG are ideologically opposed to solving the housing crisis.
@Cookie: imagine at the age of 33 living with the mammy and daddy . Depressing stuff
The Greenie Meanies only care about bike lanes and over whelming scammers in D.P. than all the homeless people and deaths on the streets!
@NOlivesmatter: even if this was the case, they’ve been in government as a junior partner for less than a year. What are you expecting them to do?
FF/FG on the other hand have constantly been in government for the duration of the state with a FF member currently the minister for housing.
@thomas mcdonald:
The greenie meanies have a green as lord mayo who legit took months to finally acknowledge all the deaths but tweeted like 147 times about bike lanes..since their short time in govt, the greens have been exposed as self righteous hippo critres (had to spell it that way)… At least with FFG you know what u are getting with them
@thomas mcdonald: Well said. It’s high time that they helped that few thousand people to get back on their feet. They need a safe base and the support from government. I’m so fed up with the heartless assumptions that they have some mythical wealthy families who have plenty of resources and are able to help them recover. People are struggling to pay rent as things are.
Why don’t someone do a statistic on the number of homeless who are irish national s and those who are not ,those who are illegal or is that going to upset the snow flake brigade.
Not surprised. Rents are unaffordable. HAP caps on rents means there is nowhere out there, anywhere in the country where a single tenant can live under a roof. It also means current tenants are unable to move anywhere else for the same reason, they are trapped.
I didn’t think we were allowed to call them “homeless people”. I thought the PC brigade had decreed they are “people who are homeless”. I’m outraged, triggered etc.etc.
In the last column of the chart above, does anyone know what the PEA, STA and TEA stand for ? I’m guessing TEA is temporary emergency accommodation ?
@Tommy Roche: If you’re right, I hope PEA is not permanent emergency accommodation!
@Tommy Roche: STA is supported temporary accommodation, PEA is private emergency accommodation (i.e B&B)
A lot of the “Family Hubs” in Dublin are operated by mainly one private company. Currently I know, they are half empty. But the state continues to foot the bill I’d guess. Some hubs operate on charging regardless if the residents are there or not.
And the homeless people sleeping on the streets, with little to no supports are being told we dont have a bed for you tonight.
If the private companies with untrained professionals didn’t have such high rates, funding a bed for a single person or family would be easier and possibly social housing could be more affordable to plan and build.
It is shocking what goes on in them I worked there in ’16 dispute it only opening in ’17 on publications.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thejournal.ie/family-hub-direct-provision-3827657-Feb2018/%3famp=1
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