Seven years, four senior ministers... and a problem that has only got worse

EARLIER this week it was announced that almost 10,000 people are currently homeless in Ireland, with the Taoiseach finally admitting we are in the midst of an emergency.

The Irish Mail on Sunday looks back at the figures and remarks made by ministers in the Fine Gael-led governments since 2011.

MARCH 2011 3,808 HOMELESS PEOPLE NATIONWIDE

The government pledges to abolish homelessness by 2016, with Environment Minister Phil Hogan taking the lead as the minister responsible. In an announcement in November 2011, Mr Hogan, right, said a new approach for people in homelessness would ‘allow service providers to focus on the delivery of independent accommodation for homeless people and families, resulting in a move away from the heavy dependence on emergency accommodation in hostels and private B&Bs.’

JULY 2014 3,258 HOMELESS NATIONWIDE, 749 OF THEM CHILDREN

Labour’s Alan Kelly takes the reins as minister in charge. In February 2015, Mr Kelly, right, hit out at homeless campaigner and activist Peter McVerry who said the target of eliminating homelessness by 2016 was ‘Alice in Wonderland politics’ ‘I’m used to those comments from him [Peter McVerry]. I haven’t heard him say one thing positive yet in relation to anything, which is unfortunate because many members of his staff work with us and would have contrary views, or express contrary views. I’d rather if people were more constructive.’

By the time he was leaving office he was no longer smiling like a Cheshire Cat as the figures continued to skyrocket.

MAY 2016 6,110 HOMELESS NATIONWIDE, 2,177 OF THEM CHILDREN

Simon Coveney is appointed minister for housing, a post he holds for just over a year before being moved following his illfated leadership contest against Leo Varadkar, who was highly critical of his Rebuilding Ireland Housing Plan.

Mr Coveney, below, sets ambitious targets but fails spectacularly to meet those targets. In January 2017 he says: ‘We’re ahead of schedule in terms of the Rebuilding Ireland plan,’ adding that he expects 19,000 houses to be built in 2017. Mr Coveney, right, also says: ‘I am going to make that happen,’ in relation to finding a solution to housing homeless families in hotels and B&Bs.

In May 2017, with just weeks to go before the deadline he had set the government, Minister Coveney continues to make promises that he clearly can’t keep. His quest to become leader taoiseach, which is at this point in full swing, may have had a part to play in this.

‘There’s a lot changing at the moment, and over the next six or seven weeks, we will see a total move away from hotels and B&Bs into family transition hubs – some of these would previously have been hotels, training schools, boarding schools, very large B&Bs,’ he says.

JUNE 2017 7,941 HOMELESS NATIONWIDE, 2,895 OF THEM CHILDREN

Eoghan Murphy is appointed Housing Minister, a major promotion by the Taoiseach to one of his main supporters in his leadership campaign. One of his first tasks as minister is to admit that the target set by his predecessor has not been met, with only 200 of a promised 2,300 new homes being built. By February of this year, homelessness had hit a new high of 9,807.