One-in-8 homeless holding down jobs, 2016 census f inds

MORE than one-ineight of Ireland’s homeless are holding down jobs, figures from last year’s Census show.

A total of 6,906 people were recorded as sleeping rough or in homeless accommodation when the Census was carried out on April 24 last year.

Of the 5,212 homeless people aged 15 and over, 899 were employed.

The results also showed that homeless people are at least twice as likely to be divorced or separated than the rest of the population, while about one-fifth said their health was fair, bad or very bad.

A total of 123 were sleeping rough on Census night, 102 of whom were in Dublin.

The vast majority of people identified as homeless were in some form of temporary or emergency accommodation, the report reveals.

Reacting to the report, Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy for Focus Ireland, a homeless charity, said: ‘This census data also demolishes many of the myths that people have about ‘the homeless’.

It show that people who are homeless look very much like everyone else in the population. This demonstrates the extent to which homelessness is linked to the wider housing crisis that impacts on all sections of society.’

Of those recorded as homeless, 4,018 were men and 2,888 were women, and the average age was 31.

Some 1,846 homeless people were aged 17 or under, including 1,594 children. Another 413 were aged 60 and over.

Niamh Randall, spokesperson for the Simon Communities, said: ‘We know family breakdown is one of the leading causes of homelessness so we must look at how we can prevent homelessness in the case of a marital breakdown.”

The figures were based on where people were on Census night April 24, last year.

Some 2,887 people were recorded as being in private emergency accommodation; another 2,681 were in supported temporary accommodation; and another 1,144 were in temporary emergency accommodation.

The headcount also found 123 rough sleepers, 102 of whom were in Dublin. The CSO said it did not include the 1,772 people in long-term accommodation in its report on homelessness, as they were classed as tenants even though they were receiving specific supports.

However, homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry told the Irish Daily Mail the latest figures ‘are not a true reflection on the current homeless crisis in Ireland’.

He said: ‘I always have a problem with figures; this year’s figures show that there are 8,000 using homeless accommodation, but that doesn’t include those who are sleeping rough, are living in tents or cars and sofa-surfing, and refuse to go into hostels or even go to emergency accommodation.

‘These people would rather sleep on a sofa than go into a hostel which is full of drugs. The actual number of homeless people in Ireland is 16,000 and not 8,000 as far as I am concerned.’

He added: ‘There are 8,000 in emergency accommodation but there are also 8,000 who refuse to go in.

‘The figure doesn’t include those who are in their 20s, their 30s and their 40s who are still living with their parents because they can’t find anywhere to live at a price they can afford.

‘There are also several thousand who use the domestic refuge centre and are fleeing abuse. That amounts to several thousand every year.

Fr McVerry said the issue of substandard accommodation is also a major factor.

‘Look at those who are living in private rented accommodation that is substandard, there are families who have had to move home to their parents and in one house there can be three or four generations under the one roof. There are thousands who are struggling and scared to death of the next rent increase.

‘There are 50,000 people in mortgage arrears. I would say there are half a million people who are homeless, living in unsuitable or overcrowded accommodation.

The report shows that males accounted for 85% of those sleeping rough in Dublin

‘This demolishes homeless myths’