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THE NUMBER OF people in Ireland in emergency accommodation has fallen for the fifth month in a row, but charities are warning that this welcome trend may be reversed following recent action by the government.
In June, 8,699 individuals were in emergency accommodation – a reduction of 177 on the figures from May. It continues a trend seen in recent months during the pandemic, beginning with March seeing the numbers of people homeless dropping below 10,000.
Last month, there were 6,046 adults and 2,653 children in emergency accommodation. Within these figures were 1,159 families.
In a separate quarterly report from the Department of Housing, it showed that 1,467 adults and their dependents exited homelessness in April, May and June.
While welcoming aspects of the figures, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said the number of people and families who are homeless is “simply too high”.
He said one of his main priorities as minister will be to accelerate the number of people exiting homelessness.
“Improved delivery of social and affordable housing will be key but we will also be focusing on increasing the levels of supports to households with complex needs,” he said.
The figures show that 70% of those in homelessness are single adults, and O’Brien said he was committed to securing more one-bedroom homes.
The minister said: “I recently launched a ‘Call for Housing 2020’, which is a new national call for property owners and developers with vacant properties to make them available for social housing. As part of the July Stimulus I have also allocated an extra €40 million to Local Authorities to refurbish homes and bring them back into the social housing stock.”
Concerns
Charities working in the sector, however, have expressed concerns that the protections for tenants that were introduced for Covid-19 may now be significantly weaker under new legislation proposed by the new government.
Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland, said: “The last five months have proved that the first defence against the virus is a stable home. Measures such as the moratorium on evictions and rent freezes have evidently worked as the number of homeless have reduced significantly since March.
We are deeply concerned that, when these protections simply end tomorrow, 1 August, we will return to the scale of evictions we were previously seeing plus having to deal with the cases which were postponed while the protections were in place.
The Simon Communities raised a similar point, and said that the decrease in the number of people in emergency accommodation had largely been driven by the reduction of the number families who are homeless.
Its national spokesperson Wayne Stanley said: “This decrease in families in emergency accommodation is due to the moratorium on evictions for sale or personal use, and the collaboration of NGO’s, local Authorities and the HSE in utilising available housing stock to support people to move out of homelessness.
“Unfortunately, that moratorium will end with the passing of the Residential Tenancy and Valuations Bill 2020.
This will see more families having to enter homelessness in the months ahead, reversing the really progressive trend we have all worked so hard to achieve in the last months. In turn, homeless services will be stretched given public health requirements around social distancing.
Inner City Helping Homeless also sounded a word of caution as it welcomed the fall in homeless numbers.
Head of communications Brian McLoughlin said: “However for the reductions to be maintained the ban on evictions needed to be extended until 2021 and the residential tenancies bill that was approved by the Dail yesterday has undone all of this good work.
We expect to see increases for the remainder of the year as a result. The ban on evictions showed us immediately how effective it can be but that good work was all undone yesterday.
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan also expressed concerns at the latest figures.
“Instead of putting ever increasing resources into emergency accommodation, the focus must shift to prevention and providing long-term secure housing,” he said. “We need an urgent change in direction from this government.”
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Did anyone explain the rules of fight club to these people!
@Darren Ahern: Seems they did… hence no one’s talkin’ about it!?
@Joe Phillips: they made a Snapchat group about it sure that’s worse than talking about it!
@Darren Ahern: They are cowards, gangs attacking one or two people, not really a fight club.
@Darren Ahern: Haha! Good point
Although I don’t remember hearin’ Tyler Durden mention snapchat so, technically…
@Darren Ahern: came here for this comment. Was not disappointed
People don’t report stuff because Guards do nothing about it the majority of the time. And if they do something, the courts don’t follow through. There is no justice for victims in Ireland.
Can’t do anything if it’s not reported.
@Anthony: Can’t do anything when crimes are reported either apparently.
@Carol Oates: moral of the story: never try
@Carol Oates: “apparently”
@Carol Oates: something tells me you want to see more criminals doing porridge.
@Carol Oates: I didnt know Ireland has a 0% crime detection rate…….. why have you hidden this from us for so long… all wise and powerful one
@Carol Oates: It’s sadly true. Someone without a previous conviction would likely be given a suspended sentence for assault in this country, if it can even be proven through the courts. For victims the idea of taking on a gang like this when none of them are taken off the streets is terrifying since the chances of them or one of their comrades coming for revenge is high.
@Carol Oates: all the gardai do is issue speeding fines
@Rochelle: Exactly right.
I’m in no way condoning any of the behaviour described here but I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been like if all the fights that went on when I was young had been filmed.
Two opposing schools fighting down the park….. fights after school….
Can’t say I can think of strangers ever being randomly attacked but there was a lot of fights when I was young that I’m very glad there is no evidence of today.
@Bob Earner: I always get a chuckle out of the “kids these days”’comments from older generations. The same stuff and worse went on back the. Just there wasn’t cameras everywhere to record it or social media to share it
@Kian: It’s the weirdest form of amnesia!!
Can you imagine if every fight resulted in a criminal assault charge!? 60% of my school would have been up in front of the Childrens Panel!
@Bob Earner: There has always been fights after school. But these youths seem to be recording random vicious assaults just for the fun of it. A big difference.
@Kian: ha exactly. If there’s a gun attack : jaysus the worst I ever saw was a knife.
If there’s a knife attack : why can’t they just use their God given fists the cowards!
Use fists : what is wrong with these monsters bring back the rope
@Bob Earner: War of the Buttons is a classic Irish children’s film about two rival schools baiting lumps out if each other.
any shyte bag who randomly attacks someone should be tarred, feathered and forced into the wilderness to fend for themselves
@Eon Cocker: and blow we go live to the 1700s
@Seriously stunned: and now we go live to the 1700s.
Gardai are only getting involved and making a statement in the media because it’s in the public eye and they have to be seen to be doing something. Especially after the recent stats on young offenders getting away with a slew of crimes. They couldn’t care less about teenagers fighting, in reality.
Don’t bother reporting it to the guards they are useless. I witnessed a car being broken into at the weekend rang the guards to report it & they never came, an hour later my wife rang back & reported it again, they never came and now the car is just sitting there wrecked. The scrotes sat in it for an hour trying to get it started and then just walked away.
@Tom Sawyer: no money in responding to that.
@Pius Flynn: we get it you don’t like the Gardaí…yawn
We effectively have no police force in this country now as all their time is taken up gathering revenue for the Government by harassing hard working people going about their business.
No other European people would put up with this lunacy
@Pius Flynn: 10 people dead in 7 days on Irish roads! I think enforcing road traffic legislation is a worthwhile endeavour
Why do people insist on sh*tting on the Gardai when the article clearly states that they are pro-actively trying to sort the problem out?
@Pius Flynn: What exactly are you getting at? Hard-working people speeding; not paying tax; insurance; unsafe vehicles? And if you think that no other Europeans would put up with this, I invite you to try any of the above in France, the Uk, Spain or Germany. You might be surprised to find yourself walking home.
@David Irwin: it depends on what legislation you are talking about.
And anyway we have enough laws, we need training for young drivers, and roads that are safe to drive on.
@George Salter: In other country’s they have technology called number plate recognition, you were probably too busy shining the local superintendents shoes to hear about it.
In other country’s if the police tried to set up checkpoints like they do here, they would be driven across, and rightfully so.
If you pay your tax and insurance and you have a valid drivers license you should be able to go about your business unhindered.
The police have far too much power in this country, it’s a police state really.
@Pius Flynn: been stopped at checkpoints in Germany and Slovenia. Anymore “facts” you want to make up?
Make the statements before someone dies.
His name is Robert Paulson…
Could we not just get some undercover Gardai to join the group and go beat the bejaysus out of them?
have your say