EOGHAN UP TO CORRECT NUMBER OF HOMELESS..
td says murphy’s 10,000 total without house is 5,000 short
IRELAND’S homeless epidemic stands at 15,000 people – 5,000 more than Government figures, a TD insisted yesterday.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy this week said 10,000 are without a permanent roof over their heads but Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy claimed the real total is being under-reported.
She challenged department Secretary General John Mccarthy at the Public Accounts Committee’s special session on the provision of homes for those on low salaries.
Ms Murphy said: “You talk about a record 4,729 having exited homelessness into independent tenancies in 2017.
“There was nearly 10,000 in homelessness in 2017, so if you add the 4,729 that experienced homelessness does that not make it way worse?”
Mr Mccarthy would not give a straight answer to the question.
He said: “The 10,000 you refer to was at a point in time, the 4,729 were over the course of a year.”
Ms Murphy replied: “Listen, way more than 10,000 people experienced homelessness in a year, that’s my point.”
The figures for the first half of this year saw 2,332 exit homelessness, which indicates Ireland is heading for around 5,000 people leaving shelters in 2018.
Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus Mccarthy also criticised Mr Mccarthy over the allocation of funds to Authorised Housing Bodies.
He said the taxpayer gives €2billion a year to the department for social housing needs but claimed money given to 500 AHBS is not regulated.
The auditor added the Government does not know the number of social houses the bodies control, even though the taxpayer paid for them.