Number of rough sleepers in Dublin falls by almost a quarter, latest figures show

The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has fallen, from 125 in April to 95 last month, the latest figures show.

The most recent “rough sleeper count”, conducted by Dublin Simon on behalf of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), found 82 of those sleeping rough were engaging with homeless services. Of these, 65 were men and 17 were women.

The count, completed over a week between October 25th and 31st, was carried out in all areas known for rough sleeping. “There was planning and communication with gardaí and staff in the four Dublin local authorities to ensure that they were fully informed about any individuals who were known to be rough sleeping, particularly in isolated areas,” said a DRHE spokeswoman.

The largest proportion (56) of the 82 whose details were recorded on homeless services’ systems, were aged between 26 and 45, with 14 aged 45 to 61, nine aged 19 to 25 and three were aged 62 or older. The youngest person found rough sleeping was 19 and the oldest was 68. Almost half, 37, were sleeping in tents.

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A total of 70 of the 82 were Irish, ten were from the EU, one was from outside the EU and one was of “unknown” origin.

Sam McGuinness, chief executive of Dublin Simon, welcomed the reduction found on the capital’s streets. He added, however: “Challenges remain on the ground with the team reporting severely entrenched rough sleeping, mental-health difficulties and calls for more couples beds and single rooms. We look forward to enabling a further drop in rough sleeping over the coming months and to collaborating further to overcome the remaining issues.”