merrion street

Mr. Eoghan Murphy, T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government today (20 April 2018) welcomed the reduction in the number of rough sleepers in Dublin. A report furnished to his Department by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) showed that there was a reduction of 74 individuals (40%) from the last count which took place in November 2017.

Speaking on foot of a visit to a newly opened homeless shelter in the north of the City, the Minister said

Last November there were 184 individuals sleeping rough and now there are 110. This reduction in people sleeping rough – in many ways our most vulnerable people who are homeless – is very welcome. It follows the dedicated and compassionate work of the DRHE working with our partner organisations to increase the services available in the Dublin Region. Still there’s more to do because we still have many people sleeping rough on our streets.

Many of those accessing homeless services have complex needs and require other supports, notably health supports, to assist them to exit our homeless services. Housing First is best international practice for getting people out of homelessness and that is why earlier this year I appointed a National Director for Housing First and increased its allocation. I want to thank Bob Jordan for the excellent work he has done so far this year. He’s delivering results and pilot programmes are also now being progressed in other parts of the country, including Cork, Limerick and Galway.

The Minister also indicated that the work of the Homelessness Inter-Agency Group, including its engagement with the NGO Sector, has highlighted a range of Inter-Agency issues which need to be addressed to effectively tackle homelessness. The Minister had previously announced his intention to bring forward policy proposals upon receipt of the first report of the Inter-Agency Group, which is expected later this month.

Finally, the Minister acknowledged the vital role being played by the local authorities and the NGO Sector:

I want to pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of the local authorities and the NGOs working in this area and the services they provide to people experiencing homelessness. The past few months have been challenging for those working in the sector with increasing demands for their services and not least dealing with a number of extreme weather events. My Department is committed to working with the statutory and voluntary bodies to implement enduring solutions to addressing homelessness.