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Over 9,000 in emergency accommodation in November, as figures rise for the sixth month running

Homelessness is highest in Dublin, with 4,568 adults in emergency accommodation being reported.

THERE WERE OVER 9,000 people in emergency accommodation last November, with the number of homeless people rising for the sixth month in a row.

Figures released by the Department of Housing in its monthly homelessness report for November 2021, show that there were 6,551 adults accessing emergency accommodation in the last week of the month.

The Department also shows that there were 2,548 children homeless during the last week in November.

This leads to a total of 9,099 people in emergency accommodation in the last week of November 2021.

Previously, the government recorded the lowest level of homelessness since 2017 in April 2021, but figures have risen steadily in the last six months.

Both the Simon Community and the Peter McVerry Trust have said that this rise in homelessness is down to the lifting of the eviction ban in April last year.

“The November figures show us that the value of the positive interventions brought in as a response to the pandemic is rapidly being lost,” said Wayne Stanley, Head of Policy and Communication at the Simon Communities of Ireland.

Homelessness was reduced by 19.3% month on month between March 2020 and May 2021, when the moratorium on evictions was lifted. Today’s statistics show that we are rapidly returning to pre-pandemic levels of homelessness.

“Urgent action is needed to mitigate the impact of these issues. That means a sharp focus on prevention while work continues to address the supply of affordable housing.”

“Since the lifting of the ban in April 2021, the number of adults and children in homelessness has increased by more than 1,100.  With future eviction bans having been ruled out, the number of homeless families will almost certainly continue to increase in the months ahead,” said campaigner Peter McVerry.

The highest homelessness figures are in Dublin, with 4,568 homeless adults being reported by the Department of Housing in the last week of November. Of the adults, 2,999 are male while 1,569 are female.

There is also a high proportion of homeless children in Dublin, with 1,930 being reported as homeless in the capital for November.

Emma Kilkenny, Head of Fundraising & Communications at Dublin Simon Community, said that Dublin Simon was concerned for the months ahead due to issues with Covid-19 and the rising cost of living.

“We are concerned for the months ahead as financial pressures, rising costs and widespread Covid-19 cases bring many people closer and closer to the poverty line,” said Kilkenny.

She says that the number of Covid-19 cases within the community is having a considerable impact on people in unstable accommodation or employment.

“This is having a very real impact on people who are in unstable accommodation or employment, with our teams doing all they can to keep people in their homes and preventing them from being pushed into homelessness.”

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    Mute Artūras Račkauskas
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:35 AM

    Thats why cashless is bad…

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    Mute Kevin Collins
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:40 AM

    @Artūras Račkauskas: It’s the online banking portal that is down so cashless transactions are not impacted. In any case, if an IT problem knocks out all of their ATMs, where do you suppose you will get your cash from?

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    Mute Artūras Račkauskas
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:47 AM

    @Kevin Collins: from under my pillow.

    What I was saying was there is talks that in the future there wont be cash. Only cards or other electronic payments. Imagine that the internet is down for some time. Means nobody would be able to buy anything unless they have cash.

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    Mute Kevin Collins
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:58 AM

    @Artūras Račkauskas: And where does the cash under your pillow come from? No legitimate employer pays cash in hand, wages and salaries are deposited to a bank account so you typically need to withdraw this via an ATM to get your cash. Cash has benefits, as does cashless. The answer is not exclusively one or the other, but a combination of both.

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Jan 27th 2023, 12:20 PM

    @Artūras Račkauskas: 100% a combination of both with nobody able to refuse cash would be acceptable, because look what happened when they had those huge fires in Australia all the machines went down & thousands of people left with no money & couldn’t use cards to get essentials!

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    Mute Artūras Račkauskas
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:55 PM

    @Kevin Collins: thats exactly what I kean. Cash alongside with electronic funds are acceptable. But cashless means no physical banknotes or coins. And thats a big no no.

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    Mute Gareth Forde
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:34 AM

    As usual.

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    Mute Consiglio
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:38 AM

    @Gareth Forde: It’s the first time I have experienced an issue. . .

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    Mute Barry Browne
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    Jan 27th 2023, 12:25 PM

    Moved back to AIB after some years with KBC & free banking. AIB are a shambles, made multiple errors costing me money when simply trying to update a Direct debit for THEIR own loan. Had to re-register my a\c for mobile this morning & it was still a mess. Bring back KBC!

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    Mute Jonathan
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:11 PM

    There’s a lot to be said for a mattress

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    Mute Charles Barker
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    Jan 27th 2023, 12:31 PM

    Me too. So that’s 409 people.

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 27th 2023, 3:56 PM

    Card for the week, cash for the weekend. Cash don’t leave no trail, baby.

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    Mute Chris Isactor
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    Jan 28th 2023, 2:43 PM

    @Keth Warsaw: Soon, you will not be allowed to have fun, at all.

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    Mute Richard Egan
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    Jan 27th 2023, 3:56 PM

    It is not resolved, I’m still locked out of my account

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 27th 2023, 3:59 PM

    @Richard Egan:

    Some of these might work….
    Close , then re-open browser.
    Try another browser.
    Empty cache…try again.
    Reboot.

    8
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