At least 3,848 children are homeless in Ireland.
The latest homelessness figures shared by the Department of Housing have revealed that child homelessness has increased to 3,848. The figure for June had been 3,675.
For the seventh month running, the total homelessness figure has come in at over 10,000 people. For the month of August, the total figure is 10,338. Family homelessness during the week of 19 – 25 August 2019 shows a total of 1,726 families accessing local authority-managed emergency accommodation.
The number of adults accessing emergency accommodation fell by seven from June, with 6,490 adults recorded on the official statistics.
Two-thirds of the homeless people in Ireland are based in Dublin.
Opposition parties have come out in criticism of the government’s handling of the ongoing housing crisis.
Eoin O Broin, the Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, said: “These figures do not provide the full picture and do not include women and children in domestic violence shelters funded by Tulsa, adults and children in hostels not funded by Government departments, rough sleepers and those still living in Direct Provision despite having secured their leave to remain.
“We need to stop these families becoming homeless and with the Budget coming up Minister Murphy and his counterpart in Fianna Fáil has the opportunity to demand more resources to build more public houses.”
Jan O’Sullivan, Labour TD, echoed these views, saying: “This is truly a heart-breaking and unacceptable situation.
“Emergency accommodation is no place for a child, and there’s an increased amount of research showing the damage it can do to children in the long-term.”
The full report can be accessed here.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
