Minister warns of post-pandemic peak in homelessness

A post-pandemic peak in homelessness may still be to come, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said.

New figures published last week showed an increase in homelessness to more than 10,000 people for the first time in over two years. The Department of Housing figures showed there were 10,049 people homeless during one week in April.

“I had flagged in advance of last Christmas that we would see a short-term rise in homelessness, and all of us are aware that behind those numbers are people, are families and that we are doing all we can to address that situation by increasing that supply,” Mr O’Brien said at the launch of a local authority scheme in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown on Wednesday.

Asked if the number of people experiencing homelessness could go up, he said he was “not going to get into trying to see when we will see that peak be reached”, but added that the homelessness taskforce he chairs is “confident that we’re going to get supply up to a level we haven’t seen in years and that will help in driving down homelessness”.

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Mr O’Brien said he “remained confident” that the Government’s target for new housing would be hit this year, despite cost pressures arising from inflation. He pointed to a burden sharing programme introduced on public schemes which will see Government pay for 70 per cent of inflation-linked cost increases, which he said would support provision of homes supported by the State, accounting for nearly half the 24,600 new builds the Government has targeted so far this year.

“I’m still confident that we will reach that figure, but obviously we need to be agile as we work through that, to deal with the challenges as they come forward,” he said.

He said he will bring a memo to Cabinet on the Mica support scheme “imminently”, saying that a programme worth “well over €2 billion” in exchequer funding would be put on a legislative footing urgently.

Asked about the ongoing inquiry into matters at An Bord Pleanála, which is reviewing cases involving deputy chairman Paul Hyde, Mr O’Brien said it was open to Senior Counsel Remy Farrell to expand the scope of his review or the timeline for its delivery if he saw fit.

Responding to reports that Clare TD Violet-Anne Wynne had found herself homeless, Mr O’Brien said he wouldn’t comment on any specific case but that local authorities are “resourced and are funded to provide the accommodation that’s needed. There is no question we are grappling with a very serious homelessness crisis right now and, fundamentally, that’s down to a shortage of supply.”

“Financial resources are given to the local authorities to be able to help people should they find themselves homeless,” he said.