Homeless group helps 18% more in 2010

THE NUMBER of people either homeless or at risk of losing their homes who sought help from Focus Ireland increased by almost 20 per cent last year.

In its 2010 annual report, published yesterday, the homelessness charity said it supported 6,500 people last year compared to 5,500 in 2009 – an increase of 18 per cent – “as demand for services increased and the impact of the recession deepened”.

Founder of Focus Ireland Sr Stanislaus Kennedy said the homelessness problem was “getting worse”.

Although there had been small steps of progress in policy development “this has been against the backdrop of the overwhelming consequences of a catastrophic housing policy”.

“Figures from the Department of the Environment showed there were 23,000 households on the housing waiting lists in 1991. By the end of the ‘boom’ in 2008 this had more than doubled to 56,000. Some estimate it may have more than doubled yet again to 100,000 households by the time the next figures are published at the end of the year.”

It was “bizarre” that “millionaires paid limited or no tax” while the numbers of homeless continued to rise, she added.

Joyce Loughnan, Focus Ireland chief executive, described 2010 as another difficult year. The proportion of people who thought it likely they would lose their homes had doubled since 2007.

She said there had been progress in the realignment of all support services for homeless people in Dublin to provide better quality services. “However, the failure to deliver homes is keeping people trapped in emergency accommodation who are ready to move on,” she said.

Writer and director Gerry Stembridge, also speaking at yesterday’s publication, described as “truly Kafkaesque” the fact that there were about 100,000 households on the housing waiting list while there were 250,000 dwellings vacant.