Emergency accommodation figures almost triple over 10 years

The number of people accessing emergency homeless accommodation has reached a new high, in the last snapshot from before the Government’s rental reforms were introduced.

The number of people using emergency accommodation rose to 17,308 at the end of February, an increase from 17,112 the previous month.

The total is made up of 11,851 adults and 5,457 children, both at record levels.

It means the number of people accessing emergency homeless accommodation has almost tripled in the last 10 years, with the overall figure being 5,811 at the end of February 2016.

The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has been increasing steadily for years and the monthly figures published by the Department of Housing do not account for people sleeping rough or those staying in hospitals, asylum centres or domestic violence shelters.

The latest figures give a sense of pressures on homeless services just before the Government’s rental reforms came into effect at the start of March.

The government has said the changes will provide greater security for renters and boost supply while the opposition has said it will dramatically increase rent costs by thousands a year and lead to increased homelessness through evictions.

The legislation overhauled Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs), caps for areas of high rental demand, and extended them nationwide, where rents must be linked to the rate of inflation or at 2%.

Any tenancies beginning from March 1 will also be of a minimum duration of six years and at the end of that term, landlords can raise rents beyond the cap to match the market rate.

New-build apartments are exempt from the cap.

Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, will be banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March.

A small landlord can end tenancies through a “no-fault eviction” in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in but, if they do that, they cannot reset the rent until the six-year window ends.

At a media event following the release of the figures on Friday, the executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland highlighted the “severe human impact” behind the statistics – including the story of one person who said they have sex with strangers in order to secure a place to sleep.

Outlining more “harrowing” cases, Ber Grogan said: “A parent said they feel like a failure and once tried to take their own life.

“Someone else was removed from the housing list after four years for no apparent reason.

“It’s all so wrong. Everyone has the right to a safe and secure place to call home but unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening.”

Ms Grogan added: “We have reached a point where homelessness is becoming normalised – a predictable, monthly data release, a near-constant presence in the headlines, an issue that is somehow both urgent and strangely routine.

“As a nation, this is not something we should be proud of.”

The event was also attended by opposition TDs including Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin.

Mr O Broin said the dramatic rise in homelessness was caused by the Government not investing enough money in the delivery of social and affordable homes, a shrinking private rental sector, and a “huge number of people experiencing eviction notices”.

He added: “The issue here isn’t the lack of money, the issue here isn’t a lack of available properties – tens of thousands of vacant ones across the State.

“It is a lack of political will to do the things that Simon and all of the opposition have been calling for for years.”

Social Demcorats housing spokesman Rory Hearne described the figures as “deeply disappointing”, and “absolutely unacceptable”.

He said: “What is clear to me is (Housing Minister James) Browne does not prioritise homelessness, he does not prioritise the children, the families, the individuals who are in homelessness.

“Because he’s making decision after decision that puts landlords, institutional investors ahead of them, and it is absolutely disgraceful.”

People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said Friday’s figures represent “a new record of shame” for the Government.

He questioned how ministers could say they are prioritising homeless prevention when they scrapped the ban on no-fault evictions.