26th April 2024
Almost 10 years since homelessness was declared a crisis, yet we see nearly a 270% increase in homelessness in that time – Simon Communities of Ireland
The latest figures released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage show that the number of men, women and children in homelessness was 13,866 in March. This is an increase of 25 on the pervious month.
These figures show an increase of 1,878 people (16%) in emergency accommodation in the 12 months since March 2023.
- 1,981 were families – a 21% (342) increase in the year.
- 4,147 were children – a 19% (675) increase in the year.
Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:
“The figures released by the Department today reveals a 16% year-on-year increase of men, women and children living in homelessness.
While we welcome the fact that some regions have shown a small decline this month, we must reflect on the fact that it is almost 10 years since these figures began to be published and homelessness was declared a crisis. At the end of 2014, the Department reported 3,738 people in homelessness. Today’s figures show an increase of 10,128 men, women and children in homelessness since then. That is a shocking figure.
Over those 10 years, we have had some innovation and success. In particular, during the period of COVID, we saw a significant decline in family homelessness. This success in reducing the number of people in emergency accommodation didn’t happen by accident. It was driven by preventing families and individuals from having to enter homelessness, while capturing increased housing supply, to ensure individuals and families could move out of homelessness.
In a recent interview, the Minister for Housing indicated that he is working to increase allocations to those in homelessness. We have once again called on the Minister to implement the provisions of the Simon Homeless Prevention Bill to help slow the number of individuals and families entering homelessness. These initiatives, if effectively implemented, could finally get us ahead of this crisis and we may eventually witness a decline in these alarming numbers.”
ENDS
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