87 children now homeless in Louth region

The number of children recorded as homeless in the North East region, which comprises Louth, Monaghan and Cavan, has now risen to 87 according to the latest figures released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

38 families with 87 child dependents accessed emergency accommodation in the North East during the week of 21–27 August 2023, according to the Department's August 2023 Emergency Accommodation report, released today.

It is up from 38 families with 70 children recorded in July and up from 35 families with 69 children recorded in June.

The number of adults recorded as homeless in the North East also rose again in August, with 183 adults accessing local authority managed emergency accommodation during the week of 21-27 August 2023, up from 177 in July and 165 in June. 

Of the 183 adults, 161 were in Louth and 22 in Monaghan and Cavan. 32 were aged 18-24; 95 aged 25-44; 47 aged 45-64; and nine were aged 65 and over. 

118 had Irish citizenship; 30 were EEA/UK citizens; and 35 were Non-EEA citizens.

Nationally, 8,796 adults and 3,895 children were recorded as homeless in August, giving a total of 12,691 homeless people, down from 12,847 in July, a reduction of 156 individuals.
 
This decrease however, is due to a correction of PASS data by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE). The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage says that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) has appointed an independent person of appropriate qualification to review the data for the Dublin region.

Commenting on the August homeless figures, Depaul says that "homelessness is solvable but Budget 2024 will play a critical role in achieving this"

David Carroll, Chief Executive of Depaul, said that, “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.

“Homelessness is solvable and Budget 2024 is critically important for those in temporary accommodation or on the cusp of homelessness."

He continued: “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.”