90 families accessed emergency accommodation in Kildare, Meath and Wicklow in August
161 adults accessed emergency accommodation in Kildare during the week of August 21 to 27.
This is according to the Monthly Homelessness Report August 2023, which was published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage today, September 29.
The Department’s official homelessness statistics are published on a monthly basis and refer to the number of homeless people accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities during a specific count week, typically the last full week of the month.
Kildare is designated as part of the mid-east region with Meath and Wicklow. In total there were 438 adults in emergency accommodation in the three counties - 222 male and 216 female. The age breakdown was classified as: 85 in the 18 to 24 category, 197 in the 25 to 44 bracket, 136 aged from 45 to 64, and 20 aged over 65.
292 of those in the mid-east who sought accommodation were Irish. The total figure for the three counties included 90 families with a total of 159 children.
A combined total of 1,572 adults and their children left or were prevented from entering emergency accommodation by way of a tenancy being created, an increase of 18% on the same period last year.
The Department said the report shows a reduction of 156 individuals nationally when compared with the figures released in July.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said: “Reliable, accurate and accessible data is vital to the work of my Department and in maintaining public trust. Any statistical errors are concerning and we have put in place a number of processes to ensure the integrity of the data going forward. I will review and expedite any recommendations arising from this work to uphold robust data collection in this vital area.”
David Carroll, Chief Executive of Depaul said the report shows 12,691 people were accessing local authority managed emergency accommodation in August.
“Today’s published figures highlight the severity of the homelessness crisis in Ireland. Depaul wants to see Temporary Accommodation being used as little as possible but worry the situation will become progressively worse unless adequate funding, and resourcing is allocated in Budget 2024," he said.
“Homelessness is solvable and Budget 2024 is critically important for those in temporary accommodation or on the cusp of homelessness.”
“We are seeing thousands of households stuck in the temporary accommodation system, sadly in some cases, for years. People are suffering from this lack of movement and this must be prioritised this October.”
“Depaul is advocating for increasing the social housing target to 12,000 units per annum, with an equitable allocation to those households in long term homelessness.”
“Depaul believes we need to do everything we can to keep landlords in the market at this juncture, and that the introduction of targeted landlord tax-reforms will significantly reduce the numbers of people who have to experience temporary accommodation. This is a short term intervention as a fundamental review of the future of the private rented sector must now be undertaken. Ireland needs a new vision for this sector.”
“In order to continue to play our role as partners in ending homelessness, 2024 funding must match the depths of the crisis we are in. We must be properly financed at full cost to deliver quality, safe services that allow us to adequately reward our highly qualified staff.”
“Over the last five years, the amount of money being spent on temporary accommodation provision has risen exponentially. This is placing huge pressure on budgets for homelessness services and diverting funding away from much needed homelessness prevention schemes. We look forward to diverting these resources into prevention strategies. Health funding will also play a key role in supporting those most vulnerable in homeless services. This must also be increased to deal with the epidemic of harmful drug use being experienced throughout our 37 services and in the communities we serve.”
“There are no easy fixes available to the problems we are facing but we know that with the right budgetary funding allocations and the right resources homelessness can be prevented and reduced.”
“We welcome the commitments of cross government parties to renew and expand policies, programs, and interventions that address all forms of homelessness. This crisis must be addressed with action this October.”