CLAIMS CIRCULATING ONLINE over the weekend alleged that people leaving Direct Provision centres are the main reason behind an increase in homelessness in Dublin.

The claims followed the publication of monthly homeless statistics by the Department of Housing, which showed there were a record 14,486 people living in emergency accommodation in Ireland in August.

Of that figure, 10,481 people were recorded as being homeless in Dublin.

One post said: “The main cause of new additions to homeless numbers is those leaving Direct Provision.”

Another said: “[The] claim that immigration isn’t responsible for record homelessness in Ireland = False.”

Both posts featured screenshots of a report by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), who manage homeless services in the capital, which showed that leaving Direct Provision was the main reason for single people becoming homeless in Dublin in August.

Evaluation

The 33% figure only refers to the number of single people who presented to homeless services in Dublin during August.

The focus on single adults overlooks two important facts.

Firstly, far more people in families presented as homeless in Dublin that month than single adults.

And secondly, data about families who presented as homeless during August shows that the main reason they became homeless was because they were forced to leave their rented accommodation.

These figures are consistent across all of the DRHE’s reports this year, which show that more people in families than single adults become homeless each month, and that evictions are the main reason that people become homeless.

The DRHE also says in its reports that the main cause of increased homelessness in Dublin is because fewer families are “exiting homeless accommodation to tenancies”.

In other words, there is something of a logjam in the system because families are not able to leave emergency accommodation.

The facts

Figures published by the DRHE on 27 September show that there were 10,481 people living in emergency accommodation in Dublin in August.

The figure comprised 3,273 children and 7,208 adults, of whom 2,544 were adults in families.

The same report said that 176 single adults presented to homeless services for the first time last month.

Of these, 58 people (33%) gave the reason that they had left a Direct Provision centre, where asylum seekers live until they are given refugee status or their asylum application is rejected by the Government (though some continue to live in the centres afterwards).

Another 35 single people (19%) said they had become homeless after experiencing a relationship breakdown with a parent, partner or their family.

Five people (3%) became homeless after getting an eviction notice, while 78 people (44%) gave a variety of different reasons.

The report also states that 82 families – comprising at least one adult and one child – presented as homeless for the first time in August.

It said that 39 families (48%) had become homeless after receiving an eviction notice from their landlord.

Because families statistically comprise at least two people, that means that a minimum of 78 people presented to homeless services after they were evicted – a higher number than the 58 single adults who had left Direct Provision.

Just two families (2%) said they had become homeless after leaving Direct Provision, a minimum of four people.

The DRHE’s monthly reports show that these statistics are consistent throughout 2024, and that most people become homeless for the first time every month as a result of families being evicted from a rental tenancy.

Between January and August, a total of 262 families (statistically comprising at least 524 people) became homeless after being evicted, as well as 155 single adults. 

However, 340 single adults became homeless after leaving Direct Provision, as well as 15 families (comprising at least 30 people).

Relationship breakdowns were also a significant reason for homeless presentations by both groups in the first eight months of 2024, with 282 single adults and 150 families citing this as the reason they became homeless.

The DRHE also explains in each of the reports that an inability for homeless families to leave emergency accommodation is the main reason for homelessness in the capital.

“Fewer families exiting homeless accommodation to tenancies has been the main driver of the increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Dublin region and not an increase in presentations,” it says.

Earlier this month, Taoiseach Simon Harris caused controversy in an interview with The Sunday Times when he also linked record homelessness to an upsurge in people seeking asylum in Ireland.

When asked about his comments the following day, he said that “the single biggest reason people” people have for presenting at homeless services in Dublin during July was because they had left Direct Provision.

However, figures from the DRHE show that this only applies to single adults.

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