The new Minister for Housing must introduce emergency measures to tackle homelessness, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s new housing spokesperson, said:
“Figures published today show there were 14,864 people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of December. Shockingly, 4,510 of them are children.
“While the slight reduction is welcome, the numbers remain unacceptably high.
“Over the course of last year, 1,764 new families were left with no option but to enter emergency homeless accommodation.
“The new programme for government commits to ending homelessness by 2030, but does not provide any real detail as to how this will be achieved.
“A tsunami of evictions and ever-rising rents, combined with an over-reliance on the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) for those in need of social housing, is contributing to the human catastrophe of homelessness.
“We need to see an emergency response from the new Government, starting with the reinstatement of a no-fault evictions ban to keep those on the verge of being made homeless in their homes, as well as a significant increase in funding and resources for preventive services and supports.
“The first priority of new Housing Minister James Browne must be to take a new approach to tackling homelessness as it is clear that the current policy has failed.”
January 31, 2025