A total of 800 new housing units for homeless people are to be provided in Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford over the next five years, it was announced this afternoon.
Focus Ireland chief executive Declan Jones said the charity hoped to secure these homes through "direct acquisition, partnerships and building schemes".
He was speaking at the publication of the organisation's annual report 2004, which was unveiled today by Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Catherine Byrne.
Mr Jones acknowledged that progress had been made in tackling homelessness and said that these achievements "were reflected in the reduced demand for certain services.
"This is real progress, but it can only be sustained if we focus more on prevention and providing long-term accommodation," he said.
The charity called for an increase in the provision of social housing and cited a recent National Economic and Social Council report that estimated an increase of 73,000 social housing units is required between 2005 and 2012.
"Our national performance to date is uninspiring," said Mr Jones. "Proportionally, social housing output today as a percentage of overall housing output is 6.6 per cent, which is half what it was a decade ago."
Focus Ireland founder and life president Sr Stanislaus Kennedy pointed out that the lack of adequate social housing forced many people to live in substandard private rented accommodation.
She said 40 per cent of those in the private rented sector got rent supplements and added that many of those at the bottom end of the sector lived in very poor quality accommodation and lacked "even the most essential facilities".
"These are Dublin's invisible homeless. They may not be roofless and we may not see them sleeping on the street, or find them in hostels, but they are homeless nonetheless because they most certainly lack the basic components that consitute a home," she said.