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LAST UPDATE | 25 Nov 2022
THE OFFICIAL COUNT of homeless people in Ireland has reached a new record of 11,397.
The figure, shown by the Department of Housing’s latest monthly homelessness report published today, includes 7,917 adults and 3,480 children.
It represents an increase in October of 422 people compared to September.
The figures only counts people using emergency facilities and does not factor homeless people with no form of accommodation. It also does not include asylum seekers or refugees from Ukraine.
The number of people staying in emergency accommodation has increased every single month since June 2021, when the figure stood at 8,014.
In Dublin city centre, it is the sixth month in a row that the number of people in emergency accommodation has increased, according to the Dublin Simon Community.
Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community, said: “We are devastated to learn of the continued increase in the number of people presenting to Dublin emergency accommodation services. For the sixth month in a row, we have reached the scandalous milestone of the highest number of people ever recorded in homelessness in the capital.”
“Among this group is a growing cohort of older people presenting to emergency accommodation services. In the last 12 months, the number of people aged 65 and older residing in emergency accommodation has grown by 39%. Over the same period, the number of people aged between 45 and 64 has grown by 32%,” Kenny said.
Homelessness is traumatising at any age, and for older people, that trauma is compounded by the physical, mental and social challenges of age. No one should have to live in homelessness, and undoubtedly, no one should have to live their latter years in homelessness.
“It has been truly heart-breaking for our staff to see the growing number of older people arriving in emergency services and trying to navigate a system that is incredibly tough at the best of times.
“This should not be happening.”
Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity, also expressed its concerned that a record-breaking number of people are experiencing homelessness in Ireland.
CEO Pat Doyle said that the number of people who have gone into homelessness is a direct result of private evictions, and is “further evidence of the need for the winter moratorium on evictions.”
The winter eviction ban came into effect this month and will remain in place until March.
Similarly, Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said that “in the face of these shameful figures, it is important to remind ourselves that homelessness is not inevitable”.
“It is not a natural phenomenon, it is the result of bad policies and can be ended, over time, with better policies delivered with urgency. However, the failure of successive governments has led to a crisis where nearly 3,500 children will spend Christmas in emergency accommodation,” Dennigan said.
“Too many of these children were born into homelessness this year and will spend their first ever Christmas in this world as homeless. Words cannot properly express how morally wrong it is that this is happening.”
A protest is due to take place in Dublin tomorrow to demand that the government take action on the homelessness crisis.
The ‘Raise the Roof’ protest is gathering in Parnell Square from 1pm tomorrow afternoon.
Additional reporting by Lauren Boland
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And there’s still €476m UNSPENT of the housing budget. The simple facts are this government does not want to fix the housing crisis. Their buddies in the hotelier industry(emergency accommodation)TD rental income, and their ability to funnel public money to private landlords via HAP would all suffer if they fixed the housing crisis. They could, with that budget, set up a state construction company and begin mass constructing social housing, to take pressure off both private and social housing. But they won’t. Roll on the next election.
@Sean Stevenson: In a nutshell, well said Sean.
@Sean Stevenson: stop talking sense, the censors will take down your comment.
@Sean Stevenson: it’s needed for the hospital spend overrun.
@Sean Stevenson: Is that you, Mary Lou? Careful, now, the anti-SF journal readers wouldn’t like you making sensible statements like that.
@Sean Stevenson: There are barely any private landlords left because of all the rules and regulations the government keep imposing,and most landlords don’t want HAP tenants because they are perceived to be problematic and difficult to evict.
@Sean Stevenson: agree. But what will the next election achieve over the previous ones ?
@Liz O’Neill: I think if you change the HAP to the landlord gets paid no matter if the tenant pays council or not it would help, but then youd wonder why it is not the case? Maybe because there is a huge problem with social tenants falling behind in rent?
@Sean Stevenson: but Leo said Martin is doing a great job, so everything is grand.
@Sean Stevenson: 100% bar one thing Sean. The next GE will be no different from many before. FFG will offer tax cuts and play the fear card with the possibility of opposition getting in and they’ll be back in, as has been the way for over 100 years now.. Housing/homelessness crisis and more
Doesn’t add in people like me… a nurse that doesn’t qualify for homeless services so I live out of my car staying on friends sofas while my children live with grandparents. There are many many people like me. Over the threshold for help but too poor to buy or rent most places. We aren’t counted.
@Lauren Masterson: talk about a double wammy…on top of being shafted for not earning enough to buy or rent and being a nurse in this country and treated like $hit..
@Lauren Masterson: that’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that. I’m 5 years homeless. I can’t even get on a homeless list but I’m putting away money to buy in places people won’t live. I have hope. It’s not easy and it’s a hell of fight. I hope you can get the support you need for you are yours. Good luck to you.
@Lauren Masterson: thats despicable. You are a critical member of the health service and cant even afford a place to live. Its madness.
Remember people- this is all according to plan….
@Greachán Ó Ceallaigh: Agreed. The homeless industry is quite the cash cow for Fine Gaels type of people.
@Greachán Ó Ceallaigh: oh do tell us why and how and every major Govt in Europe and much of the world has done this by design and why you have only blown the whistle now, given it has been an issue for decades in most of these countries.
@John O’Reilly: homeless people are just collateral damage to Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. Their policies are purposeful and working a treat.
@John O’Reilly: Add that industry to the 72,000 Ukrainian hotel business at the taxpayer’s expense.
@John O’Reilly: How is homelessness a cash cow? Put up or shut up.
@Don Hogan: half a billion per year on HAP might give you a wee clue.
If we can supply modular homes for Ukraine refugees surely they are good enough for the Irish homeless?? It can’t be that hard to solve can it be?
@Michael Moran: there has been several solutions like this over the years from modular houses to cohabiting apartment units but since the abolishment of bedsits, solutions like this have been refused time and time again because some pen pusher or some local residents refuses to believe they may actually serve the purpose for certain cohorts or people. A one bed apartment is the same price as a two bed. Both unaffordable for a single person. Why do we not have service mobile home parks where someone can buy/lease their van and lease the ground to pay for the maintenance. Holiday parks have this service but you are restricted from living there all year round.
@Michael Moran: the same day that we reach this homeless milestone the government say they want 20000 holiday homes for Ukrainian refugees. Why can’t they do something like that for the homeless here?
There could be 100,00 homeless here and the government would still carry on as if they don’t exist!
@Rmaybe: agree 100%
@Rmaybe: A little bit of forced variety in housing estate building is probably needed alright, from bedsits to cheese shops. Oceans of housing is an American import, the greens should be leading on that, walking & cycling to everything you need is supposed to be the future.
Where are the modular homes for these people to help them back on their feet. Where are the 3 meals a day in the hotel and a social welfare payment, which are being provided to others….
Where are the spare rooms in peoples homes for these homeless people?????
Whats worse is that nearly 4k of these figures are children!!!!
@Yvonne Garcia: They have all of the above. Do you think they’re all living on the streets?
It’s not realistic to get to 0 homelessness, but our government doing 0 about it is the problem, while a full scale open door policy is clearly being abused. I openly welcome any nationality during war times but the problem lies with our government not having a clue what to do next.
Empires were ruled by Emperors
Kingdoms by Kings
Countries by ………………..go on say it ! The words u are looking for are FFG
@liam: g’wan Liam, take a bow Sir!
Can we have a breakdown of nationality homeless? See if there is a particularly disadvantage nationality, as if course it won’t be the Irish in their own country right?
@Michael: homelessness is not a question of nationality. It is FFG policy which needs to be questioned. Advancing that view deflects from FFG culpability and let’s them off the hook. Or is that your aim???
Queue Leo’s next soundbite. Journal please include a mental health warning when he does!
The “counting” of the “homeless” is a waste of time. The number truly without a place of their own to live is many multiples of the official count.
In June 2022 the CSO stated that there were 166,500 vacant apts and houses in Ireland… 11k + homeless and thousands in emg accommodation. ????????..
Somebody must have answers
@Michael Costello: a lot of that 11k will be made up of people with complex problems who would struggle even if they were given a house. A lot of the vacant properties are belonging someone and they dont want people in them as is their right. Some will be vacant as the owner is in a nursing home and the house is part of the fair deal scheme and so won’t be sold until after the person’s death. Sad thing is the become derelict in the meantime.
@Rmaybe: what ??? Alot of that 11k are peo0le with complex problems? What are you on about,? the majority are famies in low paid employmemt who can’t afford to rent !! How dare you try and sweep them under the ” people with complex needs ” rug.
The only need they have is they need a HOME, u snob.
I suppose the 4 500 kids are all kids with “complex needs” too ? You haven’t gott a clue !
Surely there has to be a way to get rid of this shower of useless wasters and get a government that will work for the people
Can’t imagine the number on the streets or couch surfing.
Darragh O’Brien stated there was no housing crisis..His Boss Martin stated there was no bank bailout…Incompetence and memory loss seems to be the norm within FF. The future part time Taoiseach Varadkar has stated Martin did a fantastic job…by implementing the FG plan.
Are people on the streets included in these figures?
@Aileen Lawlor: So it’s much much worse.
@Colm Coughlan: there is 13 recognised criteria to homelessness. FFG only recognised 3 of them to arrive at this figure, factor in the other 10 and there is many many multiples of that 11,000.
@Colm Coughlan: People on the streets would be a tiny number compared to the 11,000. DCC send teams out to count rough sleepers in Dublin city twice a year and there are about 200.
Cead Mile Failte, Micheal, Leo and Eamon will look after you. Accommodation, Food, Social Welfare and Medical card guaranteed. Lots more on offer to you, come and join the party.
SHAMEFUL
Thats not even counting those who are on the housing list sleeping on sofas in their parental home
Social Housing is for the government and the councils the same poisonous chalice like the HSE – it’s an endless money pit. I had to rent all my life and never had the chance to buy a home, so I get the frustration in the comments here.
However:
The DCC reported just 2 weeks ago, that about 1/3 of tenants are in rent arrays.
Some are in arrays for years, owing around 30k in rent.
So, 30% of tenants are obviously not willing to pay, or paying rent is only only somewhere down on the their agenda, and this with the low and income based rents.
In theory, these 30% should be kicked out on the street, but guess what?
The Council/Government has to pick up the tab anyway and to put them in emergency accomodation.
Should the government support more low income buyers? Possibly.
But then people would complain again and the government could be in a similar position if buyers default/cannot pay their mortgages anymore.
I don’t have a solution either. Maybe have a closer look who is actually still living right now in Council homes? I’m pretty sure there’re plenty of tenants out there, “officially” single, but he/she living in the Council home with a partner, or still “officially” living with the – now – separated ex-partner, enjoying the low rent and additional payments.
Problem: The council/government has almost no way to proof these cases.
So, a lot of reasons, why the government might want to try to keep their hands of the housing problem.
Like I said above: I would like the rents to come down, people, including myself, would be able to buy, but it’s not all about some form of “corruption”.
If anyone has a solution to the above, I would be glad to hear it.
I see people giving out about FFG in reality if a different party was in power for the next 30 years homeless figures would still be high it’s something that will never be fixed homelessness is like diabetes in a way it’s treatable but there’ll never be a cure too many people making money off the back of it.
@: The cure, therefore, is simply to stop “too many people making money of the back of it” That is where the cure to the vulgarity always was.
@: yeah right, sure let’s all just keep electing FFG then seeing as you don’t wanna see an alternative to their housing policies. This didn’t just happen. It has been manufactured on the back of greed for profit.
And yet they are bringing in busloads and busloads of asylum seekers on top of this all.funny they can set up a building over night for them but cant seem to address the homeless.priority’s all wrong,sort out the homeless before they start bringing them in in the droves!
@Mandy Byrne: drove by the red cow today, full of asylum seekers, not a woman or child in sight.
@Ciarán Ó Dubhda: its shocking but thank god the people of Ireland are copping on,a bit late in the day though.Lots put into Wicklow and carlow as well that i know of.We as a nation have been more than giving but the cracks are starting to show.a few protests on tomorrow,lets take this government down!
I grew up near Belfast and never remember homelessness. Living in Cork last 24 years. Was out in Belfast last month with friends and they say its got very bad up there also. Very sad to see. Shouldn’t be happening in a modern society. The gap between rich and poor widening. I’ve no bother paying more tax if it goes directly to this problem but it never does. All put into one big melting pot and the homeless come last.
This has been a constant for years now it seems.. But then conversely it would seem that the majority of the population are happy with this also as they keep returning the parties who oversee these worsening records, into power, GE after GE
Fitting a Tampon dispenser in the men’s toilet in Leinster House is a bigger priority obviously.
I see the media in Ireland still using the word “Homeless”.. Ye just love to make everything sound worse than it it.
@Seamus Balfe: What other phrase would you use. FFG have enough spin doctors employed using taxpayers money and still they can’t come up with a better word. Over 11,000 people on a camping holiday? .That’s certainly the line Varadkar would use , Supported by Martin,
When the tail of the dog gets bigger than the dog…
When the tail of the dig gets bigger than tbe dog…
have your say