FOCUS SAYS GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW TO PROTECT THE CHILDHOODS OF NEARLY 4,000 CHILDREN AS NEW FIGURES REPORT THAT 9,724 PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS

Focus Ireland has warned that new figures published today reporting a total of 9,724 people experiencing homelessness clearly shows there will be no end to the crisis without a shift of policy by the Government.

This is an increase of 26 people on the figure for Sept of 9,698 as the crisis deepens with less than four weeks left until Christmas.

Focus Ireland highlighted that the new figures mean there has been a shocking 15% rise from the total of 8,492 people homeless in Oct 2017.

Focus Ireland said that while much good work is being done the latest figures shows the Government has still failed to take a number of vital decisions required to ease the crisis.

The new figures from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government reveal that 3,725 of the total number homeless are children (in 1,709 families).

Meanwhile, Focus Ireland issued new figures today which show that shockingly one family became homeless every 8 hours last month in the capital city.

The Focus Ireland figures show 89 families with 183 children became newly homeless in Dublin in October. With Christmas Day just four weeks away, the number of families with no previous history of homelessness is a record high for the month of October since records began.

Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said:

“There is some positive news as we are managing to ensure that the number of people living in emergency accommodation is not rising as fast as it was last year. This have been achieved by the combined hard work of staff in Focus Ireland, other homeless organisations, local authorities and the DRHE. For the period January-September 2018, Focus Ireland managed to prevent 350 families from entering homelessness. We also now provide over 1,100 homes across the country.”

Mr Dennigan added:

“However, it is totally unacceptable and wrong that at the same time one family became homeless every 8 hours in October in Dublin alone. This again shows that there will be no solution to the homeless crisis until the Government takes more serious measures to prevent families losing their homes.”

Focus Ireland has again called for two key actions which must be taken by the government to help ease the crisis.

• Develop a specific family homelessness strategy given the scale of this crisis. Focus Ireland has called for the government to introduce a specific sub-strategy for addressing the needs of homeless families. There must be a real impetus when there are children and vulnerable people involved, and we think there has been a bit of a failure to grasp that by the government.
• Set a cast iron deadline that no family or person will be homeless for longer than six months. This will require new measures to prevent men, women and children losing their homes and improved measures to help those who are already homeless. Many are trapped in hotels or bed and breakfasts in one room with their children.

Media contacts: Roughan MacNamara 0864680442 or Alan Neary 0864680442

For the latest statistics on homelessness across Ireland, see here