THE NUMBER of homeless teenagers in Dublin has reached crisis point, according to Focus Ireland, the agency that caters for the homeless.
Children as young as 10 and 11 are now presenting themselves to the agency's emergency service, said Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, president of the organisation.
Meanwhile the Eastern Health Board is likely to find it harder to find bed and breakfast accommodation for asylum seekers and their children as the tourist season progresses, a report published yesterday warned. Asylum seekers' prospects of obtaining suitable housing are bleak, it said.
Sister Stanislaus made her comments after the announcement of a new leaflet and phoneline by the Simon Community in Northern Ireland, aimed at helping the growing number of young home less teenagers.
"There is no doubt that more teens are becoming homeless. We are dealing with a growing number of children under 12 and the numbers we are seeing in the 12-16 age bracket are increasing at a frightening rate," she said.
She said exact statistics for the number of children under 12 and those between 12 and 15 presenting themselves to Focus Ireland were not available. She added that the exact number of homeless teenagers in the Dublin area was likely to be higher than statistics showed because many slipped through the net and were living rough on the streets.
According to the Eastern Health Board, there are more than 40 emergency residential places, including Focus Ireland's emergency service, which are either directly managed or funded by the EHB. However, Sister Stanislaus said that on any given night there were only a few places available for emergency cases because many of these were filled for several nights at a time.
"Often places for homeless youngsters are just not available because the number of beds is so limited," she said.
A report published by Focus Ireland earlier this year cited family violence, abuse and disputes as significant causes of homelessness among 18 to 25 year olds. Similar causes are also cited as reasons young teenagers leave home.
"In the past if a child had a problem, he or she could go to an aunt or an uncle. This is no longer the case due to the breakdown of the traditional family and neighbourhood," said Sister Stanislaus.
She added that the growing number of asylum seekers looking for accommodation in temporary residence "would not be a factor in providing teenagers with beds".
Mr Greg Maxwell, director of the Dublin Simon Community, echoed the comments of Sister Stanislaus. "The number of people we are finding sleeping rough on the streets is four times higher this year than last," he said. This did not refer specifically to young people, he added.
Yesterday's report on asylum seekers concludes that voluntary bodies could help to meet the housing needs of such people as well as refugees, but only if the State provided them with the money to pay for social housing schemes.
The report is published by the Homeless Initiative, a body comprising the EHB. Dublin Corporation and voluntary groups, and was written by Mr Eoin O'Sullivan of Trinity College Dublin. Ms Liz McManus, Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, told guests at yesterday's event that the number of asylum seekers here was still low compared with other European countries. Under international agreements, "we have obligations to deal fairly with asylum seekers," she said.