Homeless figures still too high; Fifth homeless death this week
- Minister needs to ensure budget investment goes towards housing first
Speaking after the release of the Homeless Quarterly Progress Report and September monthly homeless figures which showed a slight increase on the number exiting emergency accommodation and a very slight decrease in the number of people homeless.
Senator Moynihan said while the figures have stabilised, the numbers haven’t gone significantly backwards and are still too high and the fact that a 5th person homeless person has now tragically died sleeping rough on our streets.
Senator Moynihan said:
“While the figures have stabilised somewhat, the fact that 5 people have now died sleeping on our streets in recent weeks highlights the urgent need for action.
“As of September of this year, there are still 8,656 people homeless including 5,583 children and that number is far too high. The stabilisation in the number of people homeless is a result of the eviction ban that the Minister was forced to recently reintroduce, and which Labour believes must be extended until March.
“The Minister needs to ensure that the more resources are allocated towards housing first tenancies for individuals with complex needs. Given the number of people who have died sleeping on our streets, he needs to urgently fast track this funding to create additional housing first tenancies.
“Given the pressure that homeless services are dealing with due to Covid and the recent tragic deaths on our streets, the Minister needs to seek additional funding for homelessness. The €22 million announced in the budget is insufficient and we need to talk preventive action before we are faced with potentially more deaths and even infected people sleeping rough.