merrion street

Mr. Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government, today (7 September 2017) published his Department’s July Homelessness Report. The report, based on data provided by housing authorities, captures details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities.

  National Figures July 2017
Homeless Adults 5,187
Homeless Families 1,429 *
Dependents 2,973

* adults associated with these families are included in the 5,187 figure

Commenting on the report Minister Murphy said: “Repairing our broken housing sector is my top priority as Minister. These homelessness figures are a reminder of the scale of the challenge we face. We’ve been concentrating our efforts on homelessness in particular and tomorrow I will meet with all local authority Chief Executives with a view to agreeing additional measures following on from my review of Rebuilding Ireland .”

“It’s important to recognise that a huge amount is already being done to address homelessness and to secure sustainable homes for homeless households. In 2016 over 3,000 sustainable exits from homelessness into independent tenancies were achieved. In the first quarter of 2017 over 900 such exits were achieved and, while I am awaiting full confirmation from authorities, I expect a similar level for the subsequent quarter. We have more than doubled our budget for homelessness since 2014. This reflects a growing need but also a determination on our part to put in place every support possible. Every working day of the week this year, 80 homes will be provided for people in need of social housing supports.

“As I have previously said, we must continue to work hard and redouble our efforts. There is no shortage of will or determination to deal with this issue. Resources are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required.”

The Minister also highlighted the significant work being done to enhance the emergency accommodation available to homeless families and individuals:
The Dublin authorities have been working on the delivery of a number of family-focussed facilities, with capacity for over 500 families, at an estimated capital cost of €25 million. A number of such facilities are already in operation e.g. Mater Dei on Clonliffe Rd., Dublin 3 and High Park, Drumcondra with further facilities to become operational in the coming weeks and months. In summary, there will shortly be more than fifteen of these custom-developed facilities operating in the Dublin Region.

· Furthermore, the provision of an additional €10 million in capital funding for the development of further family focussed facilities was recently announced; this funding will add space for at least another 200 families.

Dublin City Council is currently working on the delivery of significant additional bed-capacity for homeless individuals, to be operational before the winter period. Over 200 beds were added to the system in 2016 and a similar amount is currently in progress.