'10,000 more social homes needed' to curb homeless crisis

Social housing construction must increase by 300 per cent next year if the homeless crisis is to be tackled effectively, Focus Ireland said yesterday.

In its pre-Budget submission, the housing charity says funding for the construction of 10,000 social housing units must be provided, at a cost of €1,800 million, compared to the 2,600 units built last year. Focus is also calling on the Government to reverse the so-called "Savage 16 cuts" introduced to social welfare payments in last year's Budget.

In its submission, titled "Decent Homes, not Temporary Beds", Focus says the Government must ensure adequate funding is made available for authorities to implement their Homeless Action Plan. In particular, the Dublin strategy is a key model. It must be funded to ensure no family with children resides in a B&B for more than a month; that there is adequate move-on and transitional housing and that there are services and facilities to support young people leaving care .

Mr Declan Jones, Focus Ireland's chief executive, said the Government must reverse the "Savage 16" if it is serious about building a more equal society.

Some 140,000 people are homeless, with the majority living in emergency accommodation, such as hostels or B&Bs, and a few sleeping rough.

"Providing a decent place to call home is the first vital cornerstone of any action plan to tackle social exclusion," said Mr Jones.

"It's essential social housing construction is increased significantly and that the restriction in access to the rent supplement, which has acted to remove the housing safety net for some of the people who are most in need, is reversed."

Focus also calls for social welfare payments and national minimum wage rates to be benchmarked "to ensure a low cost, but acceptable, standard of living is achievable for poor and low income households".

Minimum social welfare payments should be increased by €15 from the current €134.80 a week, says the charity. It is also demanding that

Next year the number of children and families holding medical cards returns to at least its 2001 figure.

Child Benefit should be increased from €131 to €149 for the first two children and from €165 to €185 for all subsequent children in a family.

The decision in last year's Budget to abolish the creche supplement should be reversed.

Of no fixed abode in Ireland
By Kitty Holland

Martina Lacey's six children were fortunate the Missionary Sisters in Dublin were able to give them a room.

Martina, her partner Stephen Cullen and their children - aged 10, eight, six, four, 18 months and 10 weeks - relocated to Dublin from Liverpool where they had been living in a hostel for two years.

"We tried to move back to Ireland a couple of years ago because Stephen's family is all here and we wanted to bring up the children here," explains Martina. "But because we had a council house in Liverpool, they told us we had to go back. When we went back though the house was boarded up and the council said we had to go back to the end of the queue."

Martina said a series of violent anti-Irish attacks on Dublin-born Stephen and similar harassment of the children, "meant we just had to come and try again". Her account of the attacks is confirmed by Ms Róisín McDonnell, the couple's key worker in Focus Ireland who obtained police reports from Liverpool.

However, when the family arrived in Dublin in August, the Homeless Persons Unit again refused to offer them more than a boat ticket to Liverpool. They have also been refused social welfare payments and a medical card.

"I've been staying with mates and in hostels," says Stephen, while Martina and the children have been staying in emergency beds secured by Ms McDonnell at the convent.

Asked if there is family they could stay with, Stephen looks askance: "Well, my ma has a two-bedroom house, but look, with six kids . . ." he says gesturing towards the youngest.

The couple appealed against the refusal of a place on the housing list. But if that is upheld, they could take their place behind the 48,000 other homeless households.

Ms McDonnell is hopeful, however, they would then be eligible for rent supplement and be able to secure rented accommodation and get on the fast track to family life.