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THERE HAS BEEN an increase of 579% from 2014 in the number of adults in emergency accommodation for more than six months, a new report has found.
The report, by homeless charity Focus Ireland, examines significant developments in homelessness over the last decade, spanning 2014-2023.
It found that over 55,000 adults have entered emergency accommodation as a result of homelessness in that period.
The number of families and children in emergency accommodation has doubled since August 2021.
Family homelessness has risen by 480% over the decade. One parent families make up 13% of emergency accommodation in Ireland. Couples with children make up 10.5%.
It stated that a total of 6,462 adults entered emergency accommodation for the first time last year – the highest amount in the last decade.
Just over half the number of adults who had experienced homelessness in this time, and entered emergency accommodation as a result, were in Dublin.
In addition to those in emergency accommodation, a further 10,532 households were “assessed and regarded” as being homeless by the four Dublin local authorities in the time between 2017 and 2023, but did not enter emergency accommodation as they secured alternative accommodation.
In total, over 30,000 households fell under this branch in the decade examined. 19,368 entered emergency accommodation.
Approximately 75% of adults who had been in emergency accommodation for over six months were in Dublin.
The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has remained consistent, the report found, peaking at 184 individuals in the winter of 2017.
The report found that a total of €2.2 billion had been spent by local authorities on services for households experiencing homelessness between 2014 and 2023.
It revealed that the use of private emergency accommodation, which is privately owned and operated, has been increasingly used to house individuals in need of emergency accommodation.
Director of Advocacy at Focus Ireland, Mike Allen, said that the report clearly shows that Ireland’s current approach to homelessness is “flawed”.
“Over the past decade, huge numbers of adults have experienced the pain of not having a home and these startling figures reflect the severe and persistent nature of the problem we face,” he said.
Ireland has committed to ending homelessness by 2030, under the Lisbon Declaration.
“Without urgent action, we will not achieve our 2030 goal,” Allen said.
According to figures from the Department of Housing, a record number of 9,803 adults and 4,206 children were in emergency accommodation in April. The figure was an increase on 13,866 recorded in March,which was also a record at the time.
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It took the President to actually call this out as a “Housing Crisis”, it has gradually worsened from 2014 to today, it was at excessive levels prior to Covid/Cost of living crisis/Wars, we knew from CSO census results in 2016 that our population was growing exponentially but we didn’t prepare or rather the government procrastinated so we lost five/six/seven years to rectify and put in motion plans to limit the damage but FFG thought they knew better and now look at the state of affairs, its unacceptable .
@Mr Inbetween: scroll down in the below link to a table with housing completions since 2011. Scary reading……
https://www.socialjustice.ie/article/housing-completions-13000-below-housing-all-target-2021
It is scary reading, what were successive Housing Ministers actually hoping for by inviting in REITs/Vultures as hoping the markets would dictate hasn’t worked for potential tenants/homeowners but has made REITs very wealthy.
@Frank Cauldhame: and reduced the quantity of life for its citizens. Banks and developers also big winners
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec:
Without a doubt. Its sickening that nobody is held culpable from the governments who facilitated this policy failure.
@Frank Cauldhame: LV bolted and said they should have “been braver and acted 5 years earlier”….. only 5 years, really?!?!….. MM thinks they’re doing a great job and will shout down to anyone who says otherwise. Farcical. Now the govt are spending billions of tax payer money on over priced houses because they couldn’t manage housing policy properly …. Heads should roll alright
And the majority of people still voting FF/FG. The whole country has Stockholm syndrome.
I’m not sure what the problem is? The population voted loud and clear for Ah Sure be Grand, and so everything is Ah Sure be Grand.
@GoodBrother: Nobody ever voted for the Housing Crisis which has been mismanaged for far too long now, if FFG
@Frank Cauldhame: Nobody ever voted for the Housing Crisis which has been mismanaged for far too long now, if FFG had taken this issue seriously from the start (circa 2016) and chiseled away at the problem we would be in a much better position now.
@Frank Cauldhame: 2016?!?! 2011 you mean, when a housing report was issued stating we needed 30K completions a year until 2026. Look at us now. 250k homes behind where we need to be while FG did nothing to get it going. They did bend over for the REITs. Leo should have jumped ship a long time ago.
@GoodBrother: it is now for what’s in power must be laughing they’re ass off in there can’t blame them now
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec:
Correct, I referred to 2016 when FG were joined in gov’t by FF (under a coalition they called a Confidence & Supply deal) and both ignored the housing report you referred to by inviting in the REITs/Vulture Funds instead to ‘allow the markets dictate’ which hasn’t worked. Housing was completely mishandled by successive Housing Ministers from 2016-2020, nothing remotely near the numbers required were built and then they were caught on the hop for producing nothing when Covid/wars came along although I do believe a lot of EU member states continued building during Covid.
@Frank Cauldhame: it’s policy not a crisis!
@Frank Cauldhame: still crying from the election humiliation I see
OMG this is disastrous.
Government policy operating as designed
@Furious George – The Wasp: Which has failed the electorate spectacularly.
Its what the people want. Long way to go yet though, 90% homelessness will take another few dail terms.
@bruce banner: Love the wit !
I though that FF’s excuse for a housing minister had all this under control.Surely he was telling the truth, wasn’t he?.
Lets stay going we can get it to 1000% for sure, guaranteed now.
Everyone agrees we have a major Housing crisis caused by FFG, that impacts socially & on the Economy.
After the crash we lost most of our Builders to other countries. We rewarded Developers/Contractors by bailing them out, non Regulation & allowing Sub Contractors be screwed, even to this day.
Realism is not been brought to the table, Bacik talking about building 1 Million homes for example !
Reality is that we don’t have the workforce anymore & training, app’ships, work permits is not solving it, worldwide shortage.
Reality also dictates that when you add the equivalent of the population of Cork city to the country in two years, on top of the existing need of Irish people, you will never ever be able to build that number of houses. Nobody being honest about that, crisis will get worse.
Nobody bats an eyelid at Australias immigration policy. You need a bank account with money and a sponsor and a promise of a job.. Why can we not do the same here .
Our government are not realistic and are yes men. They are actually creating the situation we now find ourselves in. I don’t want tent cities or busloads of males been dumped in communities just because somedick in a suit says so
*insert Pikachu face reaction by the Government*
Everyone seems to forget that we were actually being run by the IMF and were so financially underwater for many years, that’s why there was no house building then, there was no money!
Things have changed now and we should be using the corporate Tax windfalls to build housing but thinking the state can build effectively is naive as every time they try to do something for example health, they screw up
people still voting FFand FG ?? Country is mess is so scary. People have to decide to pay utility bills or buy food. While these politicians dont have worry bout anything as have all connections to hospital appointments if needed and plenty money. Ff fg have sold us lies. Irish people that keep voting for them shame on u no right to give out if love one on trolly or facing eviction
This was deemed as having ‘adequate income’ during budgets. We are being bled out. All in taxes around 52%
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