A lane adjacent to Dublin’s O’Connell Street last week
How many?
John Lawrence of Kids Need a Home writes:
When you spot what you think is an extraordinary typo, it’s hard not to do a double take.
So when Galway City Council says its bill to house homeless families in the area was just €360 in January this year, but almost €26,000 for the month of September, you think – surely some mistake?
But, when checked with the council, the dramatic sums are indeed correct.
Four Galway families with 15 children needed emergency shelter in the first two weeks of this year, but by early October, that swelled to 17 families with 43 children.
According to our Freedom of Information(FOI) request to officials in Galway, the children involved range in age from infancy to 17 years old.
Up to now, the family homeless spotlight has been fixed on Dublin, but fresh stats we sought confirms this aggressive social disease is almost nationwide.
Another FOI by our new awareness campaign,@KidsNeedAHome, reveals that Waterford City & County Council paid €6,370 for homeless families in B&Bs in September, compared to €2,540 last January.
Authorities in Waterford added that up to the end of last month, on average there were 42 family “presentations per calendar month to the homeless services” comprising a “mixture of singles, couples and those with child dependents”.
In Limerick, 21 children in nine families were homeless in early October, according to Limerick City & County Council, compared to 11 kids in eight families in the first two weeks of 2015.
Authorities in Sligo said that in mid-October one family required emergency accommodation. Sligo County Council also named three hostels it uses for homeless clients, and these premises are paid between €12.70 and €17.50 per bed, per night.
It added that hotel and B&B use in Sligo town and county is “entirely dependent upon availability and season”.
Cork City Council requested two more weeks (past the four week FOI response deadline) to publish its homeless family numbers due to “available staff resources, and records involved”.
But a significant increase in homeless families is likely to be revealed there too, on current indications. Rents in Cork city, stated a report this week, are now almost 14pc dearer than a year ago.
The above stats are damning, and future social historians may ask how on earth did we let this happen, in an era of relative prosperity.
The child casualties at the centre of this mess are facing into a harsh winter, and a far different version of Christmas than they wished for.
When schools around Ireland close this afternoon, more than 1500 children will head back to a B&B, a small hotel, or chaotic hostel, where privacy, dignity and safety may be largely absent. Some in Dublin are forced to take multiple buses just to reach their temporary lodgings, far from their school.
Our appeal today is that Broadsheet readers make this an election issue when polished politicians come knocking for a vote.
Because at this moment, Ireland – may well be – the worst small country in the world in which to be homeless.
For those who wish to follow our efforts, we are on @KidsNeedAHome
Pic: John Lawrence
Are you nuts? we need to take a million refugee’s, forget these people… Its so racist….
Because we couldn’t possibly do both things at once? Since when has it become an either/or situation?
Because scrapping the USC takes precedence, obviously.
Like, I’m sure human want’s to help people and right our social ills, but f**ked if he’s going to pay for it – so either refugees or the homeless will pay for it, because it’s really a fixed budget split between the two and all the other resources of the state, a large amount wasted, are totally inaccessible because some reason.
There’s my lunchtime dose of myopic imbecile sorted.
Guess you missed the leisurely genius of Jessica below then…
The worst thing about the left is you would genuinely advocate for taking millions of refugees… Thats why people are running to distance themselves form the looney left in Ireland …
Totes, hun.
Ireland can easily handle eleven million plus refugees. To make room we’d deport jabbering swivel-eyed muppets like you. Seeya now!
I feel sorry for your parents …..
You’re lovely.
Ah in fairness, there are a few loonies left here.
you rang?
in my work, i’ve seen the homeless budget triple in 3 years, so the stats above ring true. the homeless budget for all of dublin next year is 90million.
A third of council spending. Scandalous.
How many are there roughly? 90 million seems like a decent wedge.
Sorry I should have looked at that myself.
Focus Ireland says 5,000 or so in Ireland.
So 90mill between them is 18,000 each.
Should sort them right out?
Few cans even, maybe an occasion hit?
… and all because working class women can’t keep their knickers up.
… and all because working class fathers can’t man up & face the financial responsibility of raising their children.
… and all because the lady loves Milk Tray.
WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAH BODYFORRRRRRRM!
BODYFORM FOR YEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
Strap one to your mouth, chicken, you’ve sprung a leak.
what might have helped these families in the first place is having abortion be legal in Ireland. A lot of women who would struggle to make ends meet with children and end up falling below the poverty line can’t afford to go to England for the procedure, so they’re d#mned from the start. Better infrastructure and health care would help the root of the problem rather than just trying to put a plaster on things when they get bad. It’s meant to be 4* out there tonight – frightening for anyone homeless.
+1
But it’s easier to be a judgmental wagon if you can pretend that these women have control over their reproductive capacities. Cause nice middle-class girls never need to take the boat, nope.
There’s over 2 billion allocated for social housing. But the lead time to get sites, planning permission & houses built etc means that it’ll be at least 18 months before we see any start of a reduction of people in hostels / B&Bs.
It doesn’t really help people who are in those circumstances right now.
they can bail out the banks and their developer mates with emergency laws and late night dail booze-ups, but their hands are “tied” when it comes to a true emergency. The political class in this nation should be taken out and made sleep in the open for a few nights, that would light a fire beneath their corrupt asses.
well according to the times, that sort of talk only leads to widespread disillusionment with the political system, leading to a lack of debate about substantive issues and a resort to nihilistic reductionism. apparently, it’s your fault our politicians are such fupwits.
Every single societal ill will be solved as soon as we have a government made up of SF/PBP/AAA and independents.
well steve the established political class hasn’t really covered themselves in glory over the last few years have they?? there seems to be a mindset that we as a nation have to stick with what we know because of the ingrained fear of the unknown. Well you stick to your corrupt failures, I’m going give change a chance.
I happen to think they have done an alright job, all things considered (i.e taking the reins during Ireland’s greatest economic recession).
Based on events in Greece I reckon a hard left government would have led us to even greater economic disaster. IMO. For example. It’s worth highlighting that the number of homeless in Athens, according to Greek government is approx 20000.
According to dublin region homeless executive there are around 3000 in dublin accessing homeless accommodation.
Both figures are terrible. But articles like this on BS make it sound as if the government completely ignores this issue.
well if the IT says we shouldn’t feel contempt for our politicians in their current incarnation, then I think political journalism in this country has now reached a nadir
“Because at this moment, Ireland – may well be – the worst small country in the world in which to be homeless.”
This kind of line is just hysterical and moronic. From what I can see, the article is about how budgets ARE being increased to meet unfortunate demand so no families are out on the streets.
Should more social housing have been built. Yes. But how quickly people forget the state the country was in for the last seven years. Money is now being channeled into building houses. Late, yes. But something IS being done.