THE NUMBER OF homeless people in Ireland continues to rise, according to the government’s latest figures.
In September, there were 5,250 adult and 3,124 children accessing emergency accommodation meaning that 8,374 people across the country were homeless.
This compared to 5,222 adults and 3,048 children that were homeless in July.
The government, however, said that overall trends of family homelessness, in particular, are going downwards.
The number of families on a national level continues to rise, with 89 new presentations in September. In Dublin, however, the number of homeless families fell 3.4% between July and September.
Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy said: “In Dublin, for the second month in a row – and the first time in three years – we are exiting more families into secure and sustainable homes than are entering our emergency accommodation services.
Unfortunately, families and individuals continue to present to our emergency accommodation services.
The number of families in hotels and bed and breakfasts stood at 690. Furthermore there are just over 300 families currently in family hubs.
Murphy said that by March 2018, a further 280 families will be housed in these hubs.
An additional 197 beds are also set to be put in place for the winter in Dublin and other major urban areas by early December.
“My department, local authorities and approved housing bodies will continue to work closely, quickly and proactively to identify further solutions that will work to help people and families experiencing homelessness,” Murphy said.
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