Laois, Midlands and national homeless figures revealed as records broken

The Government's new monthly Homeless Report has shown record numbers of people in Ireland with nowhere to call home and it also carries figures for Laois.

Nationally there were 9,409 homeless adults and 4,105 homeless children in the November 2023 Homeless Report published on January 5 by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 

The figures show that there were 168 adults accessing emergency accommodation in the four midlands counties during the
week of November – 26 last year. The breakdown by county was.

• Laois 32
• Offaly 53
• Westmeath 68
• Longford 15

A total of 37 families were without a home in these counties. Of these, 25 were single-parent families. The breakdown was 45 adults and 69 children. 

About 75% of the homeless adults in the Midlands are Irish. The remainder are from the European Economic Area / UK or from outside the European Economic Area.

The he number of homeless children rose by 16% between November 2022 and November 2023, and an overall increase of 1,972 on the total number of people in emergency accommodation was also found in the same period. 

The vast majority of homeless people (6,790, or 72%) were found to be in Dublin, followed by 545 in Cork City and county, 361 in Limerick, 273 in Galway, 232 in Meath, and 180 in Louth. 

The other counties are:

• Roscommon 14
• Leitrim 15
• Kildare 147
• Wicklow 48
• Clare 69
• Monaghan/Cavan 29
• Donegal 62
• Sligo 67 Carlow 33
• Kilkenny 43
• Tipperary 40
• Waterford 94
• Wexford 64
• Kerry 45
• Mayo 87 

Outside of Dublin, most homeless child dependents were located in the West and South-West areas of the country. 

This includes counties Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon. 

The fewest number of children in emergency accommodation were found in the North-West, which includes counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. 

In their post, a Focus Ireland spokesperson stated: "New figures just issued report a shocking record total of 13,514 people homeless. This includes a record total of 4,105 children. The Government must act now to maximise the number of long-term homeless households moving out of homelessness and into their own home. 

"In the past two years more social housing has been delivered than for many years. If a fairer share of new social housing was allocated to those homeless for long periods we could reduce the harm caused by homelessness and ensure enough temporary accommodation for those who need it." 

Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, Wayne Stanley, also commented on the news. 

Latest Homelessness Figures released today show there are now 13,514 men, women and children in emergency homeless accommodation across Ireland. This is an increase of 1,972 people (17%) since last year.
Read the full statement here: https://t.co/V1gDYlmpF9 pic.twitter.com/ZSMdGCriiu

— Simon Communities (@SimonCommunity) January 5, 2024

In a statement published today, he said, "This shocking level of homelessness documented in the figures released today must be placed into context. Each of the men, women, and 4,105 children that these figures represent are experiencing a preventable trauma.

"That level of suffering demands action. We know that the primary solution to homelessness is a home. Up to very recently, Governments have been heavily reliant on the private rental market to address social housing need.

"There are a multitude of reports that outline the difficulty of finding a home in the private rental market including our own Locked out of the Market report. This is no longer a viable answer to homelessness at the scale that we see today." 

He continued: "Addressing the current homelessness crisis will require Government to work with local authorities to ensure more secure affordable homes are made available to those in homelessness and that we see increased delivery of social housing in the years ahead.

"There is also a need for a renewed commitment to keeping those at risk of homelessness in the home they have. Keeping to the commitment made in December 2022 to progress the Simon Homeless Prevention Bill and building the capacity of the ‘tenant in situ scheme’ where a local authority can purchase a home if the landlord is selling up are two actions that would help to prevent homelessness in 2024." 

The report noted 2,000 families are accessing emergency accommodation, over half of whom are single-parent families, marking an increase of 384 compared to the year prior. 

The Department's homelessness data is published every month and refers to the number of homeless people in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities during a specific count week, usually the last week of each month. 

The latest report covers the number of people who were accessing emergency accommodation during the week of November 20 to November 26 2023.