The record numbers of people living in homeless emergency accommodation will have drawn little comfort from a lacklustre radio interview with Housing Minister James Browne this morning, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“To describe the Minister’s interview on RTÉ’s ‘Morning Ireland’ as uninspiring would be something of an understatement.
“Just days after the latest figures confirmed there are now 15,378 people living in homeless emergency accommodation – 4,653 of them children – the Minister was unable to say when final figures for the delivery of social homes for 2024 would be available.
“There are now 115,425 households in need of social housing, including 58,824 on waiting lists and 56,601 renting in insecure HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) accommodation.
“Given that only 2,119 social homes were built in the first nine months of the year, it is blatantly obvious that the 2024 target of 9,300 will not be reached. It will be the third year in a row that social housing targets will have been missed.
“This is despite the usual bluster from a Housing Minister that the government expects delivery to significantly accelerate in the final quarter of the year – something that never actually materialises.
“It makes a mockery of the programme for government commitment to deliver 12,000 social homes this year.
“For those living in homeless emergency accommodation, there was nothing in the Minister’s interview to inspire confidence.
“The housing crisis needs an emergency response, including the reinstatement of the original tenant in-situ eligibility criteria, along with the introduction of a French-type State savings scheme, which could leverage some of the €160bn in Irish household savings for investment in affordable housing.
“It is also disappointing to read reports today that just 47 homes have been purchased so far under a €150 million government fund established in 2023 to allow local authorities to buy vacant and derelict homes.
“Not only is the government consistently missing its own housing targets, but it is also continuing to mismanage obvious solutions that could speed up the delivery of homes and reduce homelessness numbers.
“The latest shameful figures don’t even take into account the number of hidden homeless, such as rough sleepers or those who are couch-surfing in the homes of family or friends.”
March 31, 2025