Dublin Simon Responds to Rising Homeless Figures Revealed in Report

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has released the Homeless Report for 2022 outlining the number of people in emergency accommodation in the month of March.

Figures revealed that there is almost 7,000 people in emergency accommodation in Dublin (6,995) up by 4% on February 2022 and a 17% rise on the same period in 2021.

Within that there are 4,886 single adults, 901 families and 2,109 children.

Commenting on the figures today, Dublin Simon Community said:

“We are very frustrated, but not surprised by the increase in the number of people in Dublin emergency accommodation revealed today by the March 2022 Homeless Report.  

 “We acknowledge the Department and Local Authorities’ focus on the homeless and housing crisis, particularly progress on a youth homelessness strategy, prevention measures and Housing for All implementation, but unfortunately a number of factors have sped up the clock when we were already out of time.  

“Homelessness is increasing month on month and based on this trend, we are fearful that we will soon exceed previous homeless records in the greater Dublin area before any real strategic implementation takes place. As the devastating war in Ukraine brings more and more people to our shores, refugees are now being settled into short term accommodation and homelessness NGOs across the sector are increasingly being called for assistance. 

  “In effect the homelessness crisis is worsening and critically, the Government now needs to acknowledge and address a number of issues; housing supply, short and medium term accommodation, homeless numbers rising while homeless charities continue to work in Covid-19 prevention control environments and refugees now being settled into short term accommodation. The need to increase housing supply is central while sufficient budget and human resources must be put in place as a matter of urgency.”