Sleeping rough is on the increase, according to the Dublin Simon Community, with 26 per cent more homeless people sleeping on Dublin city streets in the first six months of this year.
The group’s figures for the second quarter of 2011 found an average of 40 people slept rough in Dublin each night, up more than a quarter on the first six months of 2010.
There was a greater rise in numbers seeking sleeping bags as they were unable to access emergency quarters, with a 35 per cent rise in sleeping bags distributed by Simon’s rough sleeper team in the period.
The change coincided with there being more empty homes in the city, Dublin Simon chief executive Sam McGuinness said.