Focus Ireland: Govt will fail to meet target of ending long-term homelessness
Focus Ireland is warning of a deepening housing and homelessness crisis in this country.
Launching its annual report today the charity said the Government will fail to meet its target of ending long-term homelessness by the end of this year if it doesn't prioritise providing homes for those who really need them.
“We are now at a critical point in the battle to end long-term homelessness," Focus Ireland CEO Joyce Loughnan said.
“Focus Ireland believes that the Government will fail to meet its own target of ending long-term homelessness by the end of this year unless the provision of homes is made an immediate priority by the whole of Government.
"By priority we mean that it is backed up by the political will and resources required to deliver homes for those most in need.”
The charity estimates that up to 5,000 people are homeless in Ireland at any one time, while there are as many as 100,000 households on local authority social housing waiting lists nationwide.
There are also 93,000 households in receipt of Rent Supplement, an emergency social welfare payment paid to households unable to meet their rental payments in the private sector.
Focus Ireland Life President and Founder Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy said: “What makes all of these figures even more shocking is that these dramatic increases in housing need have taken place at a time when we have been building more houses than ever before.”
“How can it be that Ireland managed to build in the region of 250,000 homes that were not needed during the boom years yet we have still failed to provide enough homes for those who need them most?”
Sr Stanislaus called for urgent action to overcome whatever blockages are preventing homes being delivered for those most in need nationwide.
The charity said that donations and fundraising events from the wider public and business community had helped raise €5.34m in 2009, despite the recession. This was a drop from the 2008 total of €5.7m.
