10,000 now homeless here, seminar is told

The number of homeless people in the State has quadrupled in six years, a seminar in Dublin was told yesterday.

The Labour Party spokesman on the Environment, Mr Eamon Gilmore TD, was speaking at a forum organised by the Simon Communities of Ireland, "Making the Homeless Crisis an Election Issue". The forum invited spokespersons from each of the parliamentary parties to set out the way they would tackle homelessness.

The Dáil parties were all represented except the Progressive Democrats, whose spokesman on Housing, Mr Bobby Molloy, is the Minister of State responsible for housing.

Mr Gilmore said official figures showed 2,501 people were homeless in 1996. "This rose to 5,234 in 1999. A new three-year assessment of housing need is currently being conducted by local authorities," he said, "but the Government does not intend to publish the results until after the election."

The figures would show 10,000 people were now homeless. He called on Mr Molloy to publish the figures before the election, expected early next month.

A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment said local authorities had until May 31st to return figures. "They have to be checked and collated, which usually takes about two months, so they will probably be published in mid to late summer."

Ms Olivia Mitchell, Fine Gael spokesman on Housing and Local Government, said that while local authorities were equipped to provide housing - "though they have a huge hill to climb" - the voluntary sector was better at providing crisis services to homeless people.

Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh of Sinn Féin supported enshrining a right to housing in the Constitution. Sinn Féin would set as an immediate target the provision of housing to 70 per cent of applicants to local authorities "within two years of their being on the list".

Mr Trevor Sargent of the Green Party said the issue did not get the crisis attention it deserved because homeless figures were not regarded as an economic indicator in assessing the economic health of the State.

"Youth homelessness is about more than lack of suitable housing. It's rooted in educational disadvantage and a lack of facilities in disadvantaged areas that other developed societies take for granted - family supports, mental health and psychiatric services."