Number of homeless people increases further to 10,805

There are now 10,805 people homeless across Ireland, with charities warning that they face an “ominous” winter period.

This represents another record high, with the previous peak of 10,568 recorded in the Government’s last official monthly figures.

The Department of Housing’s August report on homelessness, released on Friday, showed there were 7,585 adults and 3,220 children in emergency accommodation across the country.

This represents an increase from the 7,431 adults and 3,137 children recorded in emergency accommodation in July.

There were 1,483 families recorded as homeless, of which 55% (814) were single-parent families.

Sam McGuinness, chief executive of Dublin Simon Community, voiced concern at the increase.

“This news comes at a time when single homelessness is at an all-time high and exits from homelessness are at an all-time low as the availability of rental properties, as a social housing supply, continues to dwindle,” he said.

“Behind these numbers are people who are losing hope for a life beyond homelessness. As the record-breaking levels of people in emergency accommodation experience endless waiting, their mental health and physical health is declining.

“They are developing additional support needs which will make it increasingly difficult for them to live independently again. They are losing motivation, their resilience is fading, they are starting to give up.

“Among the people who make up this month’s increase are older people with complex health needs who never envisioned themselves in this situation and people in employment whose colleagues have no idea they are sleeping in emergency services at night.

“The picture is ominous as we face into the cold, dark winter months ahead and no real clarity or hope in Budget 2023 to support exits out of homelessness.”

Focus Ireland said that it represented a 32% increase from only a year ago, and that child homelessness is up 47% compared to the same time last year.

Its chief executive Pat Dennigan said that it was “unforgivable” that the Government’s Budget did not include measures to prevent people from becoming homeless.

“As the numbers keep going up, there is a risk that Government comes to treat homelessness as inevitable, but it is the result of bad political choices and can be solved by the right policies.

“The number of landlords selling up has had a huge negative effect on the monthly homeless figures and the government has failed to respond to a catastrophe which we, and their own data, have been warning them about for months.

“Landlords seeking to sell issued eviction notices to over 1,000 households in the first half of this year alone.”

Mr Dennigan added: “The stark reality remains that homeless services and local authorities nationwide fear that they may not be able to provide emergency accommodation for all the hundreds of households that will become homeless this winter.

“It is unforgivable that this week’s budget failed to offer a single measure to help prevent these households from losing their homes.

“Many families will have a grim dilemma this winter between paying their rent, energy bills or putting food on the table.

“Focus Ireland will continue to help people find homes, but it is difficult to see homeless services being able to cope with the sheer demand of people that need our support.

“This unprecedented crisis needs an immediate emergency response.”