Homeless faces shame our nation ‘once again’

GOING from a property bubble to a homelessness and housing crisis, while enduring endless guff from the Government on great strides being made, it is pertinent to ask: why are 9,000 people still without a roof over their heads? Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has refused to guarantee that the number will be reduced by this time next year. He insists he has the resources to solve the problem – but won’t provide a timeline. This matters.

Last Christmas, the headlines were about homeless people taking over Apollo House. There were soothing soundbites and calls to action – yet the crisis worsens.

With rents rising and an acute shortage of homes, clearly we need an urgent step change by the Government. The minister needs to deliver homes, either by building or buying more for social or affordable housing. The local authorities are not doing enough.

Is it not time for a national housing agency to engage with what ought to be a subject of national shame? Those who rent are finding themselves driven out by the soaring increases. Their tenancies are short term and they are expected to move on, but there is nowhere to go.

Homeless children are growing up in hotel rooms, so used to eating off the floor they do not know what it is to sit at a kitchen table. The sight of huddled human bundles sleeping in doorways in every city is a scandal.

With the average rent nationally at a record €1,056 and the number of homes being built by the Government falling hopelessly short of the level of need, we had better get comfortable with either stepping over them or doing something about it.

President Michael D Higgins used his annual Christmas message to highlight their plight. “This Christmas, once again, the burden of homelessness will overshadow the festive season for those deprived of a secure and permanent shelter,” he said. His “once again” should trouble us.