The Oireachtas Housing Committee learnt today that homeless deaths in Dublin increased by 61% in 2020.
In total, 79 people who were homeless in Dublin died in 2020, according to the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive. This compares to 49 in 2019 and 47 in 2018.
Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan said:
“It is tragic that so many people who are homeless died in 2020. It’s incredibly worrying that we have seen a 61% increase in homeless deaths in a year.
“We cannot tolerate this. We know what needs to be done to end homelessness. We have to provide people with homes and supports. The Minister must urgently take action to address this.
“The median age of death of someone who is homeless in Dublin is 42 – that is decades shorter than the rest of the population. We cannot allow this to continue.
“The Government needs to ramp up the delivery of Housing First – where people who are homeless are provided with a home of their own and, crucially, with wraparound services to support their needs. This is an evidence-based approach that works and it needs to be rolled out rapidly.”
January 29, 2021