Record homeless figures show Housing for All has failed
- 14,009 homeless, including 4,206 children
Labour Leader and Housing Spokesperson Ivana Bacik TD has expressed deep concern following the release of the April 2024 homeless figures, revealing a new and terrible milestone of 14,009 people in emergency accommodation, including a devastating 4,206 children.
Deputy Bacik said,
“A devastating new homeless milestone, these figures aren’t just statistics, they represent real lives failed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
“Government failure was clearly outlined in the recent independent Housing Commission The independent body established by the Government, last week estimated a housing deficit ranging from 212,500 to 256,000 homes based on 2022 Census figures, underscoring the severe scale of the problem.
“We know these figures offer just a glimpse into the true scale of the problem. Our Labour local candidates are hearing this up and down the country on the campaign trail. There are many more people whose lives are made precarious by sky-high rents, inadequate legal protections for renters, and personal circumstances such as domestic violence.
“We heard yesterday in the Dublin Inquirer that Dublin City Council has tendered for another 2000 beds for homeless accommodation. If it goes ahead, this would be the largest expansion of homeless services in recent years and an indicator that those running homeless services expect the problem to get a lot worse. Another indicator of that clearly shows that the supply of housing is far too slow, and the deficit is proof of years of neglect and mismanagement.
“Labour has a vision for housing, as outlined in our Local Manifesto. Labour will build, and build back fairer. We propose to allocate an additional €1.45 billion in capital to the delivery of housing. We will protect renters and end speculative land hoarding. We are committed to doubling State delivery of cost rental and affordable housing, increasing income limits for social housing eligibility to €40,000 per person, and moving towards doubling state investment in direct social build.
“Housing for all is failing by every metric. Homelessness is up, house prices are up, and evictions are up. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have utterly failed in housing. It’s time for change.”