72 Dublin families became homeless in August - Focus Ireland

Homeless charity calls on Government to fast track housing to tackle ‘deepening’ crisis

Seventy-two families became homeless in Dublin in August, according to figures from Focus Ireland.

The latest numbers mean 671 families with 1,257 children have become homeless in Dublin during the first eight months of 2016.

The homeless charity has called on the Government to fast track housing to tackle what it describes as the deepening family homeless crisis.

In its pre-budget submission, Focus Ireland calls for the adoption of the Housing Finance Agency’s proposal that it become the main source of lending to local authorities so they can more quickly secure funding to build housing.

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The organisation’s director of advocacy, Mike Allen, said: “The current funding process is too slow and complex due to the Government policy of ensuring all such investment is ‘off the Government books’.

“For years now we have been stuck in the deeply frustrating maze in which the Government keep insisting that money is no problem, yet the local authorities tell us the systems are too complex for them to access the money to deliver homes which are urgently needed.”

Focus Ireland said that although its family team supports one family a day to move out of homelessness, it’s impossible to keep pace as three more families become homeless on the same day.

The organisation said another recommendation in its submission “is for Michael Noonan to make the money available to provide much needed help to the over 2,000 children and their families living in hotel rooms and B&Bs which was promised in the Government’s Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness”.