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THE NUMBER OF homeless families and children staying in emergency accommodation declined last month, but the number of people in total shot up to record highs.
Figures for January show that there were a total of 7,167 homeless adults and children in emergency accommodation across Ireland in January, up slightly from 7,148 in December.
The overall number is up 25% on this month last year.
There were some minor positives as the figures showed 33 fewer families living in emergency accommodation in January than December. 1,172 families in total were staying in emergency accommodation for a week in January.
The number of homeless children also dropped by close to 100 across the country, with 2,407 staying in emergency accommodation in January.
The number of homeless single adults went up, with 117 additional people in emergency accommodation than in December (4,760 in total).
Dublin still has by far the largest number of homeless people, with 3247 homeless adults (not including rough sleepers) in January.
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin welcomed the slight reduction in the numbers of homeless families and children, but said the drop was “clearly at the expense of single person households”.
“The January homeless figures can be in no way labelled as a success and government policy on homelessness is clearly failing,” Ó Broin said.
Homelessness charities Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust both voiced their concern about the rise in homeless adults.
“Unfortunately, because of the difficulties single people face it is they who face the longest stay in homelessness,” said a spokesperson for the Peter McVerry Trust.
Focus Ireland said that the number of homeless people had now reached a “record high” and criticised the Government’s “piecemeal” approach.
“We need to maintain the huge public recognition that what is happening to these families is wrong, and the solutions that the Government have put in place are too piecemeal and too slow,” said Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland.
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Absolutely deplorable stuff going on in this state ff fg libour and the banks have ruined along with media propaganda
I know there lot of stuff happening in the media right now and it’s easy to look at these issues in the third person but think and have opinions about them. But, just for a minute, think of what having no home is like. Imagine if reading this you suddenly find yourself or your family not in your kitchen or sitting room but in the street. Just think!
Looking forward to the upcoming election
Tom we all said that before the last election and FG with the help of FF still got power.. Right now FF are the most popular party in the Country, truth is The Irish are complete idiots when it comes to politics.. It’s either FF or FG, that’s the way its been for nearly 100 years..
Like Tony Gregory said in the Dáil in the early 90′s that there was a drug (heroin) epidemic on the way, he was laughed out of the Dáil because he wasn’t wearing a tie & because FF didn’t know who he was and now 20+ years later history repeats its self Christy Burke called it that there was a homeless epidemic on the way & again by the current government FG they laughed him out of the Dáil & said he was speaking nonsense.
Typical Irish government, wait until it’s too late when there’s families living on the streets & in hotel rooms & drug fuelled hostels and the damage is done only then will they “think” about doing something.
Ireland just moved 100 years backwards.
Well done Fg and ff you must be so proud.
They don’t give a sh!t
Coincidentally so is rent and house prices.
Well done our government. And, it only took you all 100 years since 1916. WELL DONE. I hope you’re still proud of yourselves. Who cares who your new leader is.
Great news – keep the recovery going, Celtic Phoenix returns !!
Absolutely shameful. If we only had a government or media that cared.. they are more interested in who is stabbing who in the back in fg and who is the most fantastic to lead them.
Media that cared? What does that even mean?
We are in the midst of a recovery, have you forgotton ? Look how lucky we are having a truthful, transparent, dynamic leader who stands up to the crooked EU and bravely represents the Irish people,zzzzzzzzzzzzz oh wait!
If one was to consider the number of people who are in rented accommodation who have no chance of buying their own home…I would argue that they represent an as yet unspecified group of ‘homeless’.Their plight is as real.They live in a limbo so to speak,one that is as hopeless as the person in the doorway,just warmer..maybe…
Home ownershipless maybe but theres absolutely no comparison to the person slreping in the doorway. I rent, pay someone elses mortgage every month but its still a home for me and the.family. I think if i made your argument to a group of rough sleepers id upset quiet a few people.
@deisecelt: I am sure it would,however ,that said,are you expecting to rent the place you are in for much longer? Saving for your own place? You are where you are now at the whim of your landlord.That is no way to live with family to care for,yet it is all you can do…just like thousands of people who rent their ‘homes’.You can call it home…but it is not your home and it never will be unless you buy it.
Or as long as someone else allows you to be there. Your home is only yours as long as a landlord allows it. Not the greatest of security being honest.
@Trevor Beale: You made my point…simple as…
Comparing renters to homeless?? That’s just silly.
Not really Cathal. You staying in your home is the decision of your landlord. It’s not the type of insecurity that should be allowed. Unlike other European countries there is no security of tenure in ireland. If someone is renting longterm and gets to retirement age, how will they afford the high rents if they’re no longer working. Not a great future for longterm renters.
None of these figures counting people and their kids living with grandparents 8 to a house built for four nor on friends couches nor squats nor rough sleepers nor tent dwellers etc.
Keep the Recovery Going!
@Jarlath Murphy: Keep the Corruption going.
Endless Enda will be around shortly to tell us the country is in recovery mode…..
No doubt ff/fg & lab and the people that actually voted for them can sleep in their comfortable beds in the knowledge that they have destroyed lives. Well done and hopefully it comes back 10 fold .
There are many sides to the homeless crisis in this Country.
A friend of mine works for a homeless service outside of Dublin and told me many non nationals stay long term in hostels as it’s cheaper for them than renting somewhere they also get 3 meals a day and don’t have any bills he say they have had 4/5 of the same guys staying there for over a year now and those guys have no interest in leaving although they get move on dates every 3 months they either leave for a week or get bared and then present homeless to the local council who return them to the hostel.
@MyBrokenKnees: I’d imagine that is because they have no choice MBK after all we as a nation have decided they can not work….
Bring back Apollo home sweet home.
Well they have plenty of money, what exactly are they doing with all the donations?
@John Scott: You mean Quentin Sheridan, the violent criminal? Or the “homeless” couple who got engage on Xmas Day and just forgot to tell everyone that that were engaged years and had been living the high life in the UK up until very recently and had their possessions, including designer hangbags and a BMW in storage?? Or the other “homeless couple” who forgot they had a perfectly good three bedroom house with all mod cons in Drogheda?? Or the unvetted people volunteering there putting some of the most vulnerable people in our society at risk??? That Home Sweet Home??
This state
FG mantra to serve the bankers ad the vulture funds and the EU privatisation agenda. Only going to get worse the housing crisis but not for the merkels migrants will have a home over there heads and have never contributed to the Irish or European economy.All part of the EU Soros & Heinrich_Coudenhove-Kalergi agenda. In his book Praktischer Idealismus, Kalergi explains that the citizens of the future “United States of Europe” will not be the people of the Old Continent, but a new mixed breed, the products of thorough and widespread miscegenation. He states that the peoples of Europe should interbreed with Asians and other non-White races, to create a multiracial population, with no clear sense of tradition or identity and therefore easily controlled by the ruling elite.
Kalergi proclaims the need to abolish the right of nations to self-determination and outlines the break-up of nation states through the use of ethnic separatist movements and the destruction of the nations themselves through mass migration
I rent house and with current “improved” economy I am like tens of thousands of people just one paycheck from homelessness. Does anyone care? Hardly so.
And still no one is held accountable for the state of the country; we as a small country should not be living in the mess that the government and bankers did to us!
WHY ARE THE HOMELESS FIGURES RELEASED AFTER 9 ON DAYS WHEN THE MEDIA ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH WHO WILL LEAD FINE GAEL AS IF ANY NEW LEADER WILL FINALLY HOUSE PEOPLE WHO NEED SOCIAL HOUSING PROPERLY&SORT OUT THE APPALING SUFFERING CAUSED 2 HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS ON HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS
1-income affordable homes for private and social families.This is waht is required for a successful society. It can be delivered. However, no Irish political party knows how. https://www.change.org/p/referendum-on-family-home-special-status-in-ireland
Yes keep the recovery going but for who?what a sad country we exist in.
The last election was a cry for an end to austerity but FG doesnt care
Simply not enough money in the coffers. Would rather spend the money on ridiculous pay ans pensions in PS. Let’s call a spade a spade.
It’s time to occupy another high profile, NAMA owned city centre building.
Apollo House seemed to focus the government’s attention for a moment.
Another occupation would require Mr Coveney to do his job.
Thankfully it isn’t 50,000.
When some offers a centrist or right wing party, I’ll vote for them, until then I’m stuck with fg/ff
Nothing to see here. lets all talk about when Enda is going to hand over the reigns, will it be March or April?
have your say