Homeless charity Focus Ireland has reported an 18 per cent rise in the number of people seeking support this year. Focus Ireland, which will hold its annual conference in Dublin today, has called for urgent action to stem family homelessness and provide more affordable homes.
Focus Ireland have helped 9,237 people so far this year who were homeless or at risk of losing their homes, that’s up from 7,819 in the same period last year.
Minister for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan said Focus Ireland plays a key part in preventing people from becoming homeless.
“The conference . . . focuses on new solutions to increase the supply of housing available firstly to prevent homelessness and secondly to assist those who are homeless to move into independent, stable, secure accommodation,” she said. “There has been substantial progress in this regard in recent years, with, for instance, last year 879 people in the Dublin area moving from homelessness to independent living.”