3,755 children homeless
Campaigners have ‘lost confidence’ in Government as figures hit record levels
A RECORD 488 children became homeless last month, Government statistics have revealed.
Campaigners said yesterday that evictions were the main reason behind the figures.
There are nearly 10,000 people homeless across Ireland, including 3,755 children and 1,739 families living in emergency accommodation, according to yesterday’s monthly report by the Department of Housing.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy called the latest figures a ‘very worrying trend’, as February saw a 47% increase on the same time last year.
The department said a review carried out last year showed family circumstances, followed by forced departure from tenancies, were the main reasons families became homeless. Minister Murphy said he has asked the Dublin Region Homeless Executive for a report on any new issues during the course of their outreach work, which should be finished in April.
‘I know the crisis we have in homelessness is very distressing, but I hope people understand that every day a huge amount of work is being put in by our teams to both prevent people from entering emergency accommodation, and to exit people into sustainable tenancies as quickly as possible,’ he said. However, campaigners Sister Stanislaus Kennedy and Father Peter McVerry said they have ‘lost all confidence in the commitment and ability of this Government to solve the housing and homelessness crisis’.
Focus Ireland’s Roughan McNamara said: ‘The largest reason we’re seeing is families being evicted from buy-to-let properties being sold or repossessed.’
Meanwhile, John-Mark McCafferty, chief executive of the hous- ing charity, Threshold, said: ‘Given the continuing rise among families, it is clear that shortage of supply, rising rents, and insecure tenancies mean that the rented sector is contributing to the current family homelessness crisis.’
Minister Murphy said over 2,000 families were moved out of hotels last year and there was a decrease of 84 homeless single adults last month. However, campaigners believe not enough is being done.
‘The Government must accept that their current strategies aren’t working and take action to stem the tide of child homelessness. Greater preventative measures such as rent certainty and security of tenure must be implemented as an emergency response,’ said June Tinsley, head of advocacy at Barnardos.
‘With the cost of rent continuing to rise across the country, it is unsurprising more families find themselves unable to afford market rents and end up experiencing homelessness as a result,’ she said.
Minister Murphy said there may be ‘new reasons’ for the surge in homelessness, which are currently being investigated.
‘It was brought to my attention, in the course of the last two months, by the Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive, that there may be new trends developing, particularly when it comes to families, and that is something we’re investigating at the moment,’ he said.
‘Families are being evicted’