Number of homeless people rises to new record high of 12,600

The number of homeless people in Ireland has risen to a new record high, described as a “disheartening surge” and “a terrible blight on our society” by housing charities.

Sinn Fein said the figures showed that the government’s housing plan is not working, while housing charity Focus Ireland called for the annual housing targets to be increased.

The number of people in emergency accommodation last month rose by 1.3% compared with the previous month to 12,600 – a 20% increase compared with June last year.

This includes 8,835 adults and 3,765 children, 5,880 single people compared with 1,804 families – the latter representing a high not seen for several years.

A report for the second quarter of the year found that there was an 8% increase in homelessness compared to the first quarter.

It also found that the two most common reasons for homelessness were eviction (28.8%) and relationship breakdown or family circumstances (28.2%).

The second quarter of the year saw an 8% increase in the number of adults and their dependants who exited, or were prevented from entering, emergency accommodation, compared with the first quarter.

Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said the new record was “a terrible blight on our society”.

“This should not be allowed to happen. From November 2019 to April 2021 family homelessness was cut by 45% due to work by Focus Ireland and others in partnership with the state,” he said.

“During the pandemic, the Government response led to the successful implementation of collaborative policies encompassing health and housing, resulting in remarkable outcomes.

“One of these policies was the eviction ban and another was ensuring families who were homeless got priority for social housing.

“This proves that the crisis of family homelessness is solvable, and it is very worrying to see the Government backtracking on a successful approach to tackling homelessness.”

Wayne Stanley, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, called the rise “a disheartening surge”.

“It’s shocking that we continue to reach record numbers of men, women and children in emergency accommodation each month, at a time when budget surpluses are running into billions of euro.”

He said that progress made on homelessness during the pandemic had been lost, and called for housing assistance payment thresholds to be increased.

“We also know that these figures, while indicative of the crisis, do not truly capture its scale. They do not include rough sleepers, those in squats, people in direct provision with status, those in women’s shelters and those in ‘hidden homelessness’.

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said the situation is “very challenging” and “every effort” is being made to reduce homelessness.

“Tackling this issue is a Government priority,” he said.

“We know that increasing the supply of new homes, particularly social and affordable homes, is key to tackling homelessness.”

He cited CSO figures that show 14,017 homes were completed in the first six months of 2023, a 5.8% increase on the same period in 2022, and construction had begun on 15,561 new homes in the first six months of 2023.

Mr O’Brien said: “Last year we delivered a record number of social homes, the highest number since 1975. All of this will help provide more housing solutions, including for those who are at risk of homelessness.

“Resources and funding for tackling homelessness are not an obstacle to the urgent work required to combat homelessness.

“Budget 2023 provided funding of over 215 million euros, an increase of 10% on last year, for the delivery of homeless services. This is ensuring that local authorities can not only provide emergency accommodation but also and crucially homeless prevention measures.

“It will also ensure they can support households to successfully exit homelessness into secure tenancies.

“In addition to our focus on increasing supply, I introduced a number of measures to help those at risk of homelessness following the phasing out of the winter eviction moratorium.

“These include introducing 1,000 additional targeted leasing units, securing at least 1,500 tenant-in-situ purchases in 2023 and expanding emergency accommodation by adding 2,000 new beds.”

Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said “it is very clear that this government’s plan isn’t working”.

“They’ve been in government three years through its current incarnation, seven years through confidence and supply, Fine Gael 12 years, and we have never had homeless figures like these, and they are going to continue.

“So my view at this point is very clear: This government has run out of road on homelessness.

“They need to go, their minister for housing needs to go and their housing plan needs to go. And until we get a government that is serious about tackling the underlying causes of this housing and homelessness crisis, things are going to get worse.”

He added: “My big concern is I’m still dealing with an awful lot of families who are overholding. Some of them are trying to find alternative accommodation, some of them are trying to convince landlord to do tenant-in-situ. Some of the landlords are engaging in the tenant-in-situ process, but it’s still very very slow.

“And at some point I think we’re still going to see an increase in family presentations.

“There are 181 people aged over 65 in emergency accommodation – you could resolve that in a matter of months. Nobody in receipt of a pension should be homeless, full stop.”