There's been an increase in the number of people who are homeless, according to figures released this afternoon.
The Department of Housing reports shows 8,132 adults and children were homeless in July, up from 8,014 in June.
2,129 children are without a home, while Dublin accounts for the highest number of homeless people, at 70 per cent.
Greater Protections
Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy, Mike Allen says the solid progress in reducing the number of people who are homeless by over 2,000 people during the pandemic shows what can be achieved through partnership and targeted prevention measures: “There’s been great progress, particularly in relation to the number of families homeless in the last 18 months. This was achieved through the very swift response to the pandemic with measures such as the temporary ban on all evictions.
"There was also an increase in housing stock in the private rental market and local authorities fast-tracked access to social housing. Focus Ireland played our part in this by working very closely with the state which saw us help record numbers of families to exit homelessness and secure a home.”
He added: "However, the Government has decided not to continue many of the policies that were so effective in reducing the number of people becoming homeless – such as greater protections against evictions. Our services across the country are reporting a wave of landlords taking advantage of rising house prices to sell-up and they are evicting their tenants as a result. Under our current legislation this is perfectly legal, but we are hearing from many tenants who are elderly, disabled or sick who are being evicted from homes they have lived in for many years, and are unable to find somewhere new to rent.''
