Homeless figures for Cork above 500 for 15th month in a row

THE time has come to get a grip on the country’s broken housing system, the head of Cork Simon has said, as the number of homeless people in Cork was above 500 adults for the 15th month in succession.

According to the monthly homelessness report issued by the Department of Housing, there were 542 adults and 183 children recorded as availing of emergency accommodation in Cork/Kerry during January.

When broken down by county, the figures showed that there were 500 adults homeless in Cork and 42 in Kerry. The numbers of children in emergency accommodation is not broken down to county level.

Cork Simon director Paul Sheehan said: “The State is leaving people down, this is a very human issue.

“It affects young people, old people; it affects families, children — the reach of homelessness is broad, and it impacts every man, woman, and child that’s stuck in an emergency shelter.

“Right now, anyone stuck in a shelter, the chances of getting out are very slim. Most will rely on the private rented sector to get out quickly, and that’s pretty much shut off to them. The waiting lists for social and affordable housing are as long as your arm.

“You have to question what is the reason to hope for someone who’s stuck in an emergency shelter right now.”

Mr Sheehan was speaking as new figures published yesterday suggested that the average monthly rent paid in Cork over the last quarter of 2023 was €1,907, and he called for a national effort as happened during the covid pandemic to address the crisis.

“The time has really come to get a grip on our broken housing system,” he said.

“If all the agencies of the State worked together and banged our heads together we would be able to address our broken housing system, and until that’s addressed, we’re not going to see any change to the numbers of people stuck in emergency accommodation.”

Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould welcomed the slight reduction in the homeless figures for Cork/Kerry from 546 in December to 542 at the end of January, but warned that the figures could rise in the coming months.

He said that there were 2,180 notices to quit reported to the Residential Tenancies Board during 2023, and many of those notices to quit were coming to fruition around now.

“What we’re seeing is that a lot of people are so terrified of going into emergency accommodation because of the negative it could have on their families, people are moving back in with families or friends or couch-surfing,” he said. “The problem is that it’s not sustainable.”