The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has increased by 35 per cent in a year, the latest figures show.
The “spring” rough-sleeper count, conducted on April 4th, found 138 people on the capital’s streets, as well as 57 people on roll-out beds in the Merchants Quay night cafe, bringing the number of people unable to access an emergency bed on the night to 195.
These figures compare with 102 sleeping rough and 69 in the night cafe on April 24th, 2016, the night of the last “spring count”.
The latest figures represent a 3 per cent decrease on the 142 found sleeping rough on November 22nd, the “winter count”. However, this slight decrease is offset by the fact that an additional 220 emergency beds have been provided in Dublin since that count.
In addition to the 195 adults unable to access emergency beds on April 4th, there were 3,093 homeless adults in emergency accommodation – of which 1,355 were accompanied by 2,041 homeless children. The total homeless population in Dublin was 5,329.
Not included in the count was a group of Romanian men, thought to number about 20, who had arrived in Dublin in recent weeks having apparently been promised work in construction.
A Dublin Region Homeless Executive spokeswoman said a team had been working with the men and more than half had "now been successfully repatriated".
Of the 138 found on the streets, 72 per cent were in Dublin city, with the rest found outside the city area, in Finglas, south Dublin and Dún Laoghaire. A total of 85 were Irish nationals, 13 non-Irish and the nationality of 40 could not be ascertained on the night.
‘Disappointing’
Pat Doyle, chief executive of the Peter McVerry Trust, described the latest figures as "disappointing" saying they underlined the challenges in securing housing for people to move out of homelessness.
“Given the sector added over 220 emergency beds in Dublin in late 2016 and has worked constantly to increase housing ‘move ons’ we had hoped that the figure would not be on the increase.”
“We will be making every possible effort to increase the availability of housing in the coming months. Getting people into housing means we can enable the housing first team, who are engaging daily with rough sleepers, to place and support people in their own homes.
He said it could not be left to the Department of Housing to solve the homelessness crisis and “stronger interventions” were needed from the Departments of Social Protection, Justice, and Health to prevent people becoming homeless.
“We still see people falling through the cracks too easily. We need better and stronger supports for vulnerable people, people who find it very difficult to comply with a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Roughan Mac Namara, head of advocacy with Focus Ireland, said the figures were "expected but very disappointing".
“It is vital to always remember that behind every one of these numbers is a man or woman who is sleeping rough on the street or on the floor in a night cafe. This is wrong and totally unacceptable. We all need to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to end this terrible and unacceptable human crisis.”
The twice-annual rough-sleeper counts are the only official counts and are conducted by the Peter McVerry Trust and Focus Ireland under the aegis of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.
