503 people homeless in Cork for Christmas

HOMELESSNESS figures in Cork remain at a record high, with the latest Department of Housing report showing that 503 adults were in homeless emergency accommodation in Cork during Christmas week.

The figure, which covers Cork City and county, represents a year-on-year increase of 14% on December 2021, and an increase of 31% on December 2020.

This is the third consecutive month where the number of people depending on emergency accommodation in Cork has topped 500.

Nationally, homelessness figures are at a record high, with 11,632 people in emergency accommodation.

It is the sixth consecutive month that national homeless figures have reached a record high, despite a temporary eviction ban being in place.

The Homeless Report for December 2022, issued by the Department of Housing on Friday, showed that there were 8,190 adults - 6,186 men and 3,004 women - and 3,442 children accessing local authority managed emergency accommodation last month.

There were 1,594 homeless families across the country, while 1,387 of those accessing emergency accommodation were aged between 18 and 24.

With 5,793 people without beds, Dublin accounted for the majority of those homeless in the week leading to Christmas Day, with the majority (3,099) aged between the ages of 25 and 44.

Some 503 adults required homeless accommodation in Cork, as did 61 adults in Kerry.

Together, Cork and Kerry accounted for 7% of the total number of homeless people in the country.

Nationally, the figures show a 30% increase on the number of people who were homeless in December 2021.

A spokesperson for Cork Simon described the figures as saddening, noting that they constituted a 14% increase on December 2021, which meant 60 more people were homeless this year, and a 31% increase on December 2020, or 118 extra people, which was an increase of almost one third in two years.

“Those figures for Cork are reflected in our own experience at our emergency shelter on Anderson’s Quay, where we’re accommodating more people than ever before,” Paul Sheehan of Cork Simon said.

“We’re using every available space for people to bed down. In December, an average of 78 people per night were staying compared to an average of 49 people per night in December 2021.

“We’re just about managing. It’s not sustainable, it’s not a solution,” Mr Sheehan said.

“We’ve seen the number of people needing emergency accommodation slowly but surely increase month-on-month when the last Government moratorium on rent increases and evictions into homelessness was lifted.” Mr Sheehan noted that the current moratorium on evictions is in place until the end of March, which is just eight weeks away.

“Our concern that even more pressure will come to bear when the current moratorium is lifted.

“It must at least be extended. It’s an opportunity to do whatever is necessary to ramp up supply of affordable housing using every and all means possible,” Mr Sheehan said. “It’s the only way we’ll be able to get a handle on these increasing pressures.” Socialist TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry said homelessness figures continue to climb every month.

“The Government tell us they have an eviction ban in place, well, what on Earth is going to happen when that eviction ban is lifted?” asked Mr Barry.

“The news that we have received today shows that the ban not only needs to be extended, it needs to be strengthened too.”