More than 120 people died in 2022 while homeless and most of them died alone, a Health Research Board (HRB) report has disclosed.
Of the 124 people who died, most (100) were men, with an average age of 47 years. The 24 women had an average age of 40.5 years.
Seventy-one people (57 per cent) were alone when they died, 36 people were in a public place and 33 were in homeless emergency accommodation. Sixteen people were sleeping rough in the time leading up to their death.
More than one in four of those who died were in “highly insecure, substandard or unstable accommodation” at the time of their death.
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Almost two in three of the deaths in 2022 were categorised as non-poisoning, meaning they were not related to overdose by drugs and/or alcohol. Six in 10 of these were classified as medical illnesses, with cardiovascular conditions most common.
Mental ill-health was present in 47 deaths. More than one-third of deaths were due to poisoning, with most (84 per cent) of those occurring among men.
The most common drug groups involved were opioids, followed by benzodiazepines, cocaine, and alcohol. Methadone was the most common specific drug implicated in poisoning deaths.
Polysubstance poisoning accounted for seven in 10 of the poisoning deaths, with the proportion of these similar among men and women.
Overall, deaths while homeless increased by 31 per cent between 2019 and 2022, with total fatalities over this period amounting to 479. An additional 36 deaths occurred among people who were homeless but had been housed.
The source of the data used in the HRB reports, collected using the National Drug-Related Deaths Index methodology, is closed coroner files concerning deaths reported to coroners. Delays in completing coronial inquests contribute to time lags in completing the reports.
In its report for 2022, published on Wednesday, the board, which is funded by the Department of Justice, noted the 124 deaths in 2022 meant more than 10 people died per month that year. This was a reduction from 133 deaths in 2021.
Most of the 2022 deaths (57 per cent) occurred in Dublin city and county, with 7 per cent in Cork city and county. It was not possible to provide a county-by-county breakdown of the remainder, the board said.
HRB chief executive Dr Gráinne Gorman said the report “highlights the complexity of homelessness and the difficulties faced by some of the most vulnerable people in our society”.
HRB research officer Cathy Kelleher said the data showed that serious medical conditions, problem drug use and mental ill health “were still among the additional challenges faced by the people who died while homeless, with many people impacted by more than one of these at the time of death”.
The median age of those who died while homeless rose from 40 years in 2019 to 46 in 2022, she noted.
“While the circumstances surrounding these deaths are similar to previous years, the increase in the number of people who have died while homeless is significant,” she said.
The report noted the 2022 homeless death figures occurred in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of homeless people who died increased from 95 in 2019 to 127 in 2020. The number of deaths fell from 133 in 2021 to 124 in 2022.
The National Drug-Related Deaths Index was established in 2005 with the aim of developing “an accurate mechanism” for recording the number of drug-related deaths in Ireland. The index is used to provide evidence for national policy and planning and enables the State to meet its mandatory reporting requirements to the European Union and United Nations.
