Homelessness crisis in Cork has reached a 'critical point' as numbers escalate 

There has been a further increase in the numbers of both adults and children seeking emergency accommodation in Cork, according to the latest homeless figures issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

According to the data, 546 adults in Cork and 198 children in Cork and Kerry sought emergency accommodation during December, up from 503 adults and 148 children in December 2022.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, speaking to The Echo on Sunday, said that supply was critical and that during his term in the ministry, more than 100,000 new homes had been delivered.

“We will continue to support anyone who’s in emergency accommodation or families supported by the State, and what we’re seeing is more people exiting, and what we need to do is to double down on our efforts in relation to housing delivery”.

“This year is going to be a good year,” he said.

Caitríona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners said she felt profoundly sad as the beginning of 2024, like the beginning of 2023, saw homelessness at record levels.

“We will have to start again by saying that the issue of homelessness in Cork has reached a critical point and that’s indicated by the escalating numbers at the end of December,” said Ms Twomey.

“The crisis continues to deepen and worsen, and is exacerbated by the harsh weather conditions and, unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of effective solutions or support being offered to those unfortunate individuals who find themselves thrust into homelessness regardless of the circumstances.”

The monthly homeless figures for December 2023 issued on Friday also disclosed that there were 105 families with 198 child dependents in emergency accommodation over Christmas week in the south-west region, which covers Cork and Kerry.

The quarterly homelessness figures for Q4, 2023, were also published on Friday and disclosed that 96 adults in the south-west region exited emergency accommodation which brought it to 378 for the 12-month period until December 31, 2023. These figures represented an improvement on 2022 data which revealed that 344 adults exited homelessness in the south-west.

The figures for adults prevented from entering emergency accommodation also indicated an improvement as 476 adults were supported to avoid homelessness, while the figure for 2022 was 284.

The number of families whose duration of stay in emergency accommodation exceeded 24 months rose from 51 at the end of 2022 to 55 on December 31, 2023. The number of families who were in emergency accommodation less than six months at the end of last year was 187, down from 210 at the end of 2022.

Under the Housing First Scheme, local authorities in the south-west region — Cork county and city councils and Kerry County Council — created five tenancies in the last quarter of last year, down from 11 tenancies in the same period of 2022.