The number of homeless adults has fallen to its lowest level in nearly four years.
There are 4,093 adults homeless in Dublin.
Nationwide, 8,060 people accessed emergency accommodation in March, according to figures from the Housing Department.
That's a small decrease on the previous month, with over 77 per cent of those being single adults.
Meanwhile the number of homeless dependents and children fell to a five year low last month, at 2,166.
Reductions
Inner City Helping Homeless CEO Anthony Flynn says: "It’s certainly positive to see any reductions in those accessing homeless services. For too long we saw successive monthly increases in those entering the homeless services.
"But this doesn’t go far enough, we haven’t won the war on homelessness by any means and we must do better. The eviction ban being lifted will see further increases in those accessing services. The floodgates will reopen and the system will not cope under the pressure."
Families
Focus Ireland has also welcomed the drop in the number of families entering homelessness for the month of March but believes a strategy needs to be put in place to continue the progress.
Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan says: "Family homelessness remains at levels which would have been unthinkable a few years ago, and many of the families remaining in homelessness are those that require the greatest support.
"We need to develop a strategy for vulnerable families which include specific measures such as providing additional support workers and mental health supports."
Eviction Ban
Adrian O’Reilly, Project Worker with Dublin Simon Community’s Tenant Information & Support Service says there is a widespread sense that the last few months have been “the calm before the storm” and that tenants are worried: "People are very conscious that with the lifting of the eviction ban we will soon have a crisis situation on our hands, which is causing real anxiety among our clients.
"We are seeing tenants in arrears, some of whom have already been given notice to quit, and on the other side of the coin there are landlords in financial difficulty themselves who are facing repossession from the banks.
"Although some protections have been put in place and extended to July 12th, these do not cover all those at risk of homelessness, particularly those who were already in crisis before Covid-19."
