Charities call for eviction ban extension as number of homeless people rises

Michael Bolton

A record 11,754 people were in emergency homeless accommodation at the end of January.

This is the seventh consecutive month of record-breaking figures and the 13th consecutive month of increasing homelessness.

The 11,754 men, women and children in homeless emergency accommodation in January 2023 represents an increase of 1 per cent (122 people) in one month and a 28.5 per cent increase (2,604 people) since this time last year.

While welcoming the reduction in homelessness outside of Dublin, the Simon Communities of Ireland are calling for an extension of the eviction ban, that is set to expire on March 31st.

Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:  “An extension on the moratorium is required. That extension should not be time based, but results based. That means we get ahead of the crisis, drive down the numbers and then lift the moratorium.

"Getting ahead of the crisis means three consecutive months of reducing the numbers of households in homelessness and an increase in the number of households supported to move on from homelessness, beyond the level of new presentations seen before the moratorium was put in place.

"This can be achieved by building on the work done to increase roll-out of the tenant in situ scheme and increasing the allocation of public housing to those in homelessness. "

The extension of the eviction ban was also called for by Focus Ireland.

Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said: “The introduction of the Winter eviction ban last October was essential. At the time all emergency homeless accommodation was full and over 1,000 households faced eviction by landlords wanting to sell up.

"Both those conditions still exist, so it is essential that the ban be continued to avoid an additional surge in family homelessness.

“The Government must stop lurching from one short-term crisis response to the next. We need a clear plan to tackle the problems which made the eviction ban necessary in the first place.”

CEO of homeless charity De Paul, David Carroll, says more and more young people are accessing emergency accommodation.

"No more pressure can be put on the homeless temporary accommodation system for both families and single people. Homeless services are at capacity.

"Any significant increase of presentations will be very difficult to deal with. We are seeing a younger cohort presenting to our homeless services.

"Currently 40 per cent of people accessing our emergency accomodation are aged between 18-30 years old."