A decade of failure: homelessness hits record high
- Record 15,378 homeless, including 4,653 children
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has written to the Minister for Housing demanding urgent action following the release of February’s homelessness figures, which show a record 15,378 people without a home, including 4,653 children. Deputy Sheehan has outlined key policy measures that could be implemented immediately to tackle the deepening crisis.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“This is not an accident. It is the direct result of political choices made by this Government. Their failure to take meaningful action on homelessness has left thousands of families trapped in emergency accommodation, with no end in sight.
“I have written to the Minister to set out four measures that could be taken immediately to provide real solutions:
- Pass Labour’s Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017. This legislation, first introduced by my colleague Jan O’Sullivan, would ensure local authorities place the best interests of the child at the centre of homelessness decision-making. It passed second stage unopposed and has already gone through legislative scrutiny. It’s time for Government to act.
- Increase investment in homelessness prevention. The Government has committed to the Lisbon Declaration but has failed to put real funding behind prevention. The focus on Homelessness report this week highlights the hundreds of millions spent on emergency accommodation—most of it going to private providers—while long-term solutions are ignored.
- Ensure the Tenant in Situ scheme protects single people. Increasing funding for this scheme would prevent more single people from entering homelessness. The Government must also reassess the types of social housing being delivered to ensure enough single-unit homes are provided.
- Review the allocation criteria for social housing. Social housing delivery is finally reaching levels last seen under Labour in the 1970s, but allocations must be reviewed to ensure they help those in greatest need, particularly families and long-term homeless individuals. Evidence-based reform is long overdue.
“Further action is needed to strengthen tenants’ rights and increase housing supply, which is at the heart of the crisis. But these homelessness measures must be prioritised now as the Government prepares a replacement for Housing for All.
“This cannot go on. No child should grow up without a home, and no one should be forced to sleep in emergency accommodation because of Government inaction. We need a renewed sense of urgency, and we need it now.”
Link to letter to the Minister for Housing from Deputy Conor Sheehan:
https://labour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Letter-to-Minister-on-Homelessness-28-3-25-C-Sheehan-TD.pdf