Homelessness on the rise (over 130 more children) - Mod Warning Post #392

Lead emergency medical consultant Dr IK Okafor said the department treated 260 homeless children in the period from last October to December alone.

“Their presentations are varied and complex but in the majority they stem from the fact that these children are living in completely unsuitable, cramped and temporary accommodation,” he said.

The long term solution to the current homeless issue is to increase the supply of homes

The root cause of increased homelessness is the supply shortage across the housing sector, which in turn is a result of the recent economic collapse and the associated damage to the construction sector. Accordingly the long-term solution to the current homeless issue is to increase the supply of homes.

Despite promises that no homeless person would sleep rough during this week's deep freeze, it has been claimed that 86 people were left on the streets of Dublin on Tuesday night.

The figure was revealed shortly before the Department of Housing released the December Homelessness Report which showed that there are 9,753 people in emergency accommodation. It includes 3,559 children.

There was an increase of 37 adults accessing emergency accommodation and a decrease in the number of families presenting to homeless services in Dublin.

Yesterday, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) urged members of the public to report anyone sleeping rough in the capital as temperatures plunge over the next few days.

A Status Yellow weather warning issued by Met Éireann kicked in at 6am yesterday morning and will remain in place until 6pm on Saturday.

June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy, Barnardos said: “A decrease in child homelessness in December is to be expected, as extended family and friends rally round to ensure children don’t have to spend Christmas in emergency accommodation. The number of children homeless in December 2018 is 42% higher than December 2016. Homelessness is not something any child should experience. It is not acceptable.

With the risk of snow and a cold weather warning in place, I am appealing to the Minister to immediately initiate contingency measures and open as many beds as possible to reduce the risk of death on our streets.

"We have already seen rough sleeper deaths around the country since the turn of the year and are fearful we will see more deaths with the temperatures to drop so dramatically.”

The housing crisis is forcing some families to choose between paying the rent and eating, a leading expert on children’s rights has warned.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said many of the children affected would not appear in child poverty statistics.

Those low-income families which did not qualify for the housing assistance payment (HAP) faced rents of €1,900 a month, the average rent in Dublin, she pointed out.

Architect Mel Reynolds told the conference in Dublin that half of all residential-zoned land in Dublin is State controlled, either being owned by a local authority or NAMA.

He said this would be enough to provide 71,000 new homes.

But he said increased supply had not led to lower house prices in the past and private housing is currently out of reach for low and middle-income earners.

According to CSO figures on wages, he said, the maximum price for an affordable house is €245,000 but the average price paid by a first time buyer in Dublin was €370,000.

With the ever-growing number of children in Ireland becoming homeless and entering emergency accommodation, it will come as no surprise that a recent survey carried out by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) found that 27% of primary schools have students who are homeless.

Furthermore, 16% of respondents stated that there are children in their school who are living in direct provision.

Many of these children view school as a “safe haven”, but are being “forced to live a double life” because “they don’t really, in most cases, want anyone to know about their situation”, according to IPPN CEO Pairic Clerkin, who was speaking ahead of its annual principals’ conference.

The long term solution to the current homeless issue is to increase the supply of homes

The root cause of increased homelessness is the supply shortage across the housing sector, which in turn is a result of the recent economic collapse and the associated damage to the construction sector. Accordingly the long-term solution to the current homeless issue is to increase the supply of homes.

The number of homeless children has increased by 10 per cent in the past year, from 3,267 in January 2018 to 3,624 last month

CEO of The Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA), Tanya War, slapped the government with an F grade, its lowest grade ever for its failure to tackle childhood homelessness.

Rents and house prices will likely rise for a number of years as the supply of new homes won’t start meeting demand before 2023 at the earliest, according to broker Goodbody.

The Simon Communities of Ireland have said that the rental report shows that tenants nationwide are faced with a “huge disadvantage” in terms of housing.

The homelessness and housing organisation said that while it is encouraging that the number of properties available to rent nationally showed rare signs of increase, availability of affordable housing in the private sector remains far too low nationwide.

“All these things lead to an overall crisis where demand far exceeds supply, and not only does demand exceed supply, the supply that there is does not suit the demand, so it is either substandard or too luxurious and it’s very difficult to find something in the middle,”