Official figures show increase in the number of homeless people in State

The number of homeless people in the State has increased by 347 to 5,581, according to official figures released by the Department of the Environment.

The statistics show there are no homeless in Carlow, Clare, Leitrim, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Wicklow or west Cork.

The figures, part of the Housing Statistics Bulletin, were compiled from an assessment conducted by local authorities in March 2002.

According to the results, 3,773 households were homeless compared to 3,742 in 1999, the previous time an assessment was undertaken.

In March 2002, a specific study was also undertaken for the Dublin area by the Homeless Agency and the ESRI, focusing on the four local authorities of Dublin. It found that the number of homeless households in the Dublin area was 2,560, or 4,060 people, including 1,140 children.

The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Noel Ahern, said that "at a time of severe pressure on the availability of housing and before many of the homeless action plans were fully implemented, it is noteworthy that the rise in the level of homelessness is minimal".

Mr Ahern, who has special responsibility for housing and urban renewal, said that the number of homeless people remained "far too high and we must continue to tackle the problem vigorously".

Mr Ahern believed that the real homeless figure was less, and was for people who were sleeping rough. A lot of people were in bed and breakfasts, much of which had been turned into self-catering apartment accommodation.

The Government was looking at renting whole apartment blocks, rather than paying weekly or monthly rates.

The Simon Community, however, has questioned the figures. Ms Noeleen Hartigan, its research co-ordinator, pointed to the zero homeless figures for Clare and Carlow and said this did not tally with the number of people in those counties using Simon's services. She also believed the figures for Galway, 181 people, including 155 adults and 26 children, were a "gross underestimation".