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Minister Murphy’s statement on January homeless figures

Mr. Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government, today, (27 February 2019) published his Department’s January Homelessness Report. The report, based on data provided by housing authorities, captures details of individuals accessing State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities.

National Figures

January 2019

Adults

6,363

Families

1,614*

Dependants

3,624

*Adults associated with these families are included in the 6,363 figure

 

  • An increase of 234 people nationally;
  • A decrease of 3 families, bringing the number of families in emergency accommodation to its lowest point since January 2018; 
  • A decrease of 32 families accommodated in hotels in Dublin;
  • For the second consecutive month the number of families exiting emergency accommodation in to a tenancy in Dublin exceeded the number of families entering emergency accommodation;
  • 97 families exited emergency accommodation to an independent tenancy in Dublin during January, while 96 families were also prevented from entering emergency accommodation in the same month.

Commenting on the figures, Minister Murphy said, “It is very disappointing and we remain in a very difficult situation where homelessness is heavily impacting on the lives of families and individuals. There was a decrease of people in emergency accommodation in December, which we understood at the time to be partly due to seasonal reasons, and so an increase in January was anticipated but that doesn’t mean it is acceptable.  That said, we are seeing some very positive movements when it comes to families in emergency accommodation. For two months now we have exited more families in to tenancies than have entered emergency accommodation. Families in emergency accommodation are at their lowest point for a year. If these movements can be sustained as trends in 2019 then we will make important inroads in to the crisis this year.” 

The Minister continued, “Key to delivering solutions for households experiencing homelessness is sustaining the progress being made by Rebuilding Ireland in delivering more new homes.  Over 27,000 households had their housing need met under Rebuilding Ireland in 2018, with the local authority stock of social housing increased by over 8,000. This year we will add another 10,000 homes to the stock of social housing.”

“However, the solutions to homelessness are often more complex and I am working closely with my cabinet colleagues to deliver solutions for those individuals who require further support to exit homelessness, in particular those with long term health needs.”