Minister set to confirm Government failure to meet housing target
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy is expected to confirm the Government will not meet its target of moving all families out of emergency accommodation by the end of the month.
Some 650 families were still in hotels and B&Bs at the end of last month and it is expected that they will be moved in the coming weeks or told about their alternative accommodation.
Minister Murphy will officially open 28 new housing units by Focus Ireland in Dublin this morning.
The charity has supported 13,500 people who were homeless or at risk of being homeless last year - the highest number it has ever recorded.
The figures are contained in their Annual Report for 2016, which is being launched later today.
"We also delivered another 135 new homes that we own ourselves and manage ourselves, for people who are homeless and need support," said Mike Allen, head of advocacy at Focus Ireland.
"It's been an incredible year. But that has to be set against the fact that we're working in a situation where homelessness reached the highest level it has before, so the more we do the more effective we are, because of the failure of Government housing policy over many years, we're seeing the situation get worse and worse."
