The latest homelessness figures have shown the devastating consequences of this Government’s housing failures, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.
Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson on housing, said:
“There are now 14,429 people living in homeless emergency accommodation – the highest ever recorded in the history of the State.
“Shockingly, 4,401 of these are children – a 66 per cent increase since this Government took charge.
“These figures provide further evidence of this Government’s inability to get to grips with the housing crisis with the number of people in homeless accommodation rising every month this year.
“Fianna Fáil promised to turn the page on the housing crisis when Darragh O’Brien was appointed Minister for Housing. In reality, they have turned a crisis into a disaster.
“As we approach the end of the line for this Government, rents, house prices and the number of people becoming homeless have all reached record levels never seen before.
“There are solutions that would help ease this crisis if they were implemented properly. The cumbersome four-stage approval process that is holding back local authorities from building social housing needs to be scrapped. In addition, Housing First tenancies must be ramped up. No fault evictions, which are pushing families into homelessness, also need to be stopped.
“A new housing plan is urgently needed. The end of the road cannot come soon enough for this Government.”
August 30, 2024