Former Lord Mayor of Dublin calls on housing minister to step down over rising homeless figures
Sarah Slater
A former Lord Mayor of Dublin has called on Minister for Housing James Browne to step down after the latest figures show a historic rise in those who are homeless.
Dublin North Inner City Independent councillor Christy Burke wants Browne to “step down immediately after another needless rise in homeless”.
Homeless figures have surpassed 17,000 for the first time, with the number in emergency accommodation last month reaching a total of 17,112.
The Department of Housing's homeless report shows that 11,793 adults and 5,319 children accessed emergency accommodation in January.
The figure is an increase of 378 since December, when 16,734 were recorded as homeless.
Burke said: "Since Minister Browne took office the number of homeless have continuously increased without fail every month. The latest figures don’t even reflect those classed as rough sleepers.
“There is no doubt that those who find themselves in this all too familiar situation will rise sharply given the new Government rental rules which are now in effect.”
He added: “The government sound bites are not working anymore for them, shame on them for allowing these families and single people to be put in these deplorable situations”.
