Focus Ireland welcomes a drop of 196 people in the number of people homeless in December

New figures issued by the Department of Housing today show a very welcome drop in homelessness of 196 people * for December to a new total of 13,318 people homeless.

However, Focus Ireland said there has been a stark 14% increase in homelessness over the last year.

Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said: “The fall in homelessness in December is very welcome and we hope this trend continues. However, it would be remiss of us not to highlight that this comes against the backdrop of an appalling increase of 14% during the last year alone.”

Focus Ireland attributed December’s fall in homelessness to more effective efforts by local authorities in ensuring that families who are long-term homeless get a fair share of the new social houses coming on stream.

The charity said that the positive news of a drop in December is a direct result of the hard work of local authorities, approved housing bodies and front-line services, including Focus Ireland and Focus Housing Association which have made their own significant contribution.

Mr. Dennigan said: “Focus Ireland has repeatedly called on local authorities to be more proactive in ensuring that families trapped in homelessness get offered a fairer share of the homes that are coming on stream. The fact that local authorities at last moved in this direction in December is to be strongly welcomed. However, it is essential that this approach is not just for one month but continues on a long-term basis.’’

“The Government has said that last year more social homes were provided than any time in the last 50 years. This welcome increase must be used as an opportunity to really help the most vulnerable and significantly reduce the number of families and individuals trapped in the misery of homelessness.”

Focus Ireland maintains that the December figures seem to indicate that giving families who are long-term homeless a fair share of available social housing is a policy that works, we now need local authorities to persist with that policy. If the Government and Local Authorities do this, it could mean that we have started on the long road towards ending homelessness.”

The positive news for December comes against the backdrop of one of the worst years ever for rising homelessness.

A 14% rise in total number of people homeless from Dec 2022 to Dec 2023.

A 15% rise in number of children homeless from Dec 2022 to Dec 2023.

A 20% rise in number of families homeless from Dec 2022 to Dec 2023.

However, Focus Ireland urged caution as Mr. Dennigan concluded: “We are all working to help prevent and tackle homelessness, but I would also stress that one month of good figures cannot wipe out more than a year of rising homelessness. These are not just percentages and statistics, but everyone is a real person whose life has been in crisis because they have lost their home. It is unforgivable that nearly 4,000 children are still homeless in Ireland today.”

Meanwhile, Focus Ireland repeated its call on Government to reconsider its decision to stop providing emergency shelter for newly arrived Ukrainian refugees after 90 days. It reiterated that while it understood the decision to bring the Irish financial support more into line with what is available in other EU countries, the decision to provide only 90 days accommodation to Ukrainian refugees does not seem to have been thought through.

Mr. Dennigan concluded: “This decision will force Ukrainian refugees to seek homes in the already pressurised private rental market, putting them in competition for housing with ordinary workers for the first time. This decision confuses the role of the homeless systems and the asylum system, which have until now been entirely separate. Confusion between the two systems has caused a lot of tensions, some of it due to poor communication. For the Government to now add to this confusion is deeply ill advised and should be urgently reconsidered.”

Note:  There were 143 children in the 196 drop in number homeless in Dec 2023.

Media Contact: Roughan Mac Namara

Head of Media Communications

Focus Ireland

Ph: 086 85 15 117