Homelessness numbers have increased again, across categories including children, families, pensioners and young adults, with a total of 14,486 people now living in emergency accommodation.
The latest data, published on Friday by the Department of Housing, shows during the week of 19th25th August there were 10,067 adults and 4,419 children in homelessness accommodation. The children were in 2,099 families, of which 58 per cent were headed by lone parents. Of the adults, 6,602 were homeless alone.
There were 224 people aged 65 or older in emergency accommodation – accounting for 2 per cent of all adults, and 1,740 aged between 18 and 24, accounting for 17 per cent of homeless adults.
None of these categories include people sleeping rough, homeless asylum seekers, people homeless but couch-surfing or women and children in domestic violence refuges, all of whom are counted in other data mostly collected by other Government departments.
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The latest total number represents a 14 per cent increase since August 2023, when there were 12,691 people in emergency accommodation, a 13 per cent increase in child homelessness (3,895 children a year ago) and 16 per cent rise in single adults (5,690 a year ago).
Looking at nationality of adults in homelessness shelters, 5,392 (53.5 per cent) were Irish, 2,203 (22 per cent) were from EEA countries or the UK, while 2,472 (24.5 per cent) were non-EEA.
In Dublin, where the largest numbers of homeless people are, there were 10,481 in emergency accommodation, including 3,273 children in 1,467 families. There were 4,664 homeless single adults in the capital.
Of all adults accessing homeless accommodation in Dublin last month, 3,335 were Irish (46.8 per cent), 1,764 (24.4 per cent) were from the European Economic Area (EEA) or UK, and, 2,109 (29 per cent) were from outside the EEA.
Pat Dennegan, chief executive of Focus Ireland called on the Government to direct local authorities to ring-fence a proportion of new social housing “specifically for families who have been homeless long-term”.
The “targetted approach” had been effective in tackling long-term child homelessness during the pandemic, he said.
“If we fail to apply the lessons from what has proven effective, the number of families and children enduring long-term homelessness will continue to increase each month, despite the valuable efforts of Focus Ireland, other NGOs, and the State to support more households out of homelessness.”
Erene Williamson, the Salvation Army’s homeless services lead in Ireland, said “a chronic lack of affordable housing and the cost of living crisis are the key drivers for people accessing our services”.
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