Dublin Simon Community react to Rough Sleeper Figures

In reaction to today’s (20 April) rough sleeper figures, Sam McGuinness on behalf of Dublin Simon Community said:

“On the night of 27 March 2018, 110 people were counted as sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin. This is a welcome reduction since the record high number of 184 in November 2017. The vast and coordinated response of agencies and people working across the sector to deliver extra capacity, especially during the extreme weather conditions, helped to get many people off the streets to safety.”

Mr McGuinness went on to say that great efforts have been put in place to reduce the number of people who are roofless, yet concern still rests with the need for permanent accommodation.

“As the demand continues to increase, additional emergency beds have been provided and each month we are seeing people stay longer and longer in our own emergency accommodation as supply of long term homes is scarce.

“We are all doing our upmost to move people out of this situation and permanently accommodate adults, parents and children. This year alone we plan to build an additional 46 units of accommodation. However the scale of the crisis in the Greater Dublin area, including counties in Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, is of enormous proportions and the challenge is to deliver homes to the many people who are living in the despair of homelessness.

“With the recent appointment of a National Director for Housing First and the rollout of national implementation plan, I look forward to seeing the numbers of people sleeping on our streets reduce further. I also look forward to the upcoming publication of the recommendations of the ‘Homeless Inter Agency Group’ to see the renewed focus in tackling the crisis.”