Homelessness 'twice as bad' as claimed
Homelessness is twice as bad as official government figures, a leading charity claimed today.
Focus Ireland maintains more than 2,900 households have nowhere to live, compared to 1,394 identified in the housing needs assessment.
The organisation believes data from the Department of Environment severely underestimated the problem.
Mike Allen, Focus Ireland’s director of advocacy, said the statistics are contradicted by a study by the Homeless Agency and local authorities.
“The housing needs assessment is conducted every three years by the Department of Environment,” said Mr Allen.
“As with previous years its credibility is clearly in doubt.
“The Government needs to review its operation and with respect to homelessness replace it with an annual country-wide ’counted in’ survey.”
Collected in March 2008, the housing needs assessment estimated there were 1,394 households homeless in Ireland – with 709 in the Dublin region, and 371 in Cork, Limerick and Galway cities.
Meanwhile, a counted in survey by the Homeless Agency in the Dublin region found 2,144 households using homeless services last year, including 2,366 adults and 576 children.
“This is treble the amount claimed by the Department of Environment,” said Mr Allen.
He said similar studies in Cork, Limerick and Galway cities revealed 767 households were homeless, double the figure claimed by the Housing Needs Assessment.
“The differences between the ’counted in’ figures and the housing needs assessment figures are startling,” he continued.
“In our view the ’counted in’ figures are more reliable as they are based on a more robust methodology.
“They provide a more accurate figure for homelessness and a more accurate basis for policies to tackle it.”
Last year Focus Ireland supported more than 5,500 people through a range of services to prevent vulnerable families and single people from becoming homeless and getting others back in to housing.
