THERE ARE OVER 2,800 children homeless in Ireland, latest figures show.

The figures for homeless people staying in emergency accommodation in June were released today, showing a slight rise in the numbers of homeless families and children.

In total, there were 1365 families with 2895 children staying in emergency accommodation in June.

This marks a rise of 118 children from the numbers from May.

There were 5,046 homeless adults in emergency accommodation in June, a small rise on the previous month.

Of homeless adults, 2,131 were placed in private emergency accommodation, which includes commercial hotels and B&Bs across the country. There were 1,471 homeless adults in this type of accommodation in Dublin alone.

Announcing the latest figures, a statement from the Department of Housing said:

“While the overall numbers in emergency accommodation showed an increase during June, progress is being made in relation to moving families out of hotels and B&Bs.”

Speaking to TheJournal.ie this afternoon, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said:

“It’s absolutely disgraceful that the minister and department are releasing figures late in the afternoon on a bank holiday Friday.

“What’s more worrying is the figure themselves.

Clearly, not only has the government not been able to get families out of hotels by the deadline of the end of June, but they’re not able to get to grips with the ever increasing number of families presenting as homeless.

Department of Housing Department of Housing

Family Hubs

In July, Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy confirmed that a deadline set by his predecessor Simon Coveney to have all families out of commercial hotels by July would not be met.

In light of this, The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has called for a change in law to ensure homeless families don’t spend long periods in group home ‘family hubs’.

Family hubs are group homes for homeless families which were first announced by Government earlier this year.

A total of 18 hubs are planned for Dublin, with a number already operational in the city. It is planned that 634 families will be housed in these hubs while further funds have been committed to developing more.

The full report for June is available here. 

Read: Cockroaches, mould and chronic drug abuse in front of children – life in homeless accommodation

More: Irish Human Rights Commission worried new hubs could ‘normalise’ family homelessness

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More