Homeless figures could reach 16,000 by next election, warns Peter McVerry
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The number of people left homeless could reach 16,000 by the time the next general election comes around, according to Fr Peter McVerry.
The most recent figures show there are 12,847 people in emergency accommodation — a record high. Nearly 4,000 of those are children.
He said between 200 and 250 people are becoming homeless each month, and although it should worry the Government, “it won’t” because it is gradually increasing, “and we just get used to it”.
“If this continues, and it's probably likely to get worse, the number of homeless people by the time of the next election could easily be 16,000,” he said before adding: "To solve the housing crisis, we need a Minister for Housing who's angry enough to bang heads together and get things done.”
He was speaking at a People Before Profit press conference in which the party announced its intention to debate a motion on Wednesday which would accelerate the passing of its Eviction Ban Bill 2022. The bill would see bans for no-fault evictions renewed each year as long as the housing crisis remains.
Fr McVerry said there should be exemptions for landlords who are in “serious difficulty” who are struggling with mortgage payments or need to return to live in their property. He said stricter implementation of rules surrounding Airbnbs and other short-term lets would bring many properties back into the private rental sector.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the housing and homelessness crises are ever-worsening, adding that anything less than emergency action taken by Government will not suffice.
“They should start by supporting this motion and the PBP Eviction Ban Bill to re-introduce the temporary evictions ban. They then need to redirect as much labour and resources to building social and affordable housing on public land,” he said.
It comes as Sinn Féin TD and housing spokesperson, Eoin Ó’Broin, criticised the Government for failing to meet its "modest targets" following the release of the Housing Department’s progress reports on social and affordable housing.
Mr Ó Broin said the figures ,which include 1,401 newly-built social houses in the first six months of 2023, are “appalingly low”.
Some 22 cost-rental homes were delivered through Approved Housing Bodies while 101 affordable homes were delivered by local authorities. Zero cost-rental homes were delivered by the Land Development Agency.
“The reason why more and more young people have been forced to live at home in their 20s and 30s is because the government are failing to deliver affordable homes,” said Mr Ó Broin.
A housing department spokesperson said: “Traditionally, the delivery of social housing by local authorities builds throughout the year and a significant part of the delivery is delivered in Q4.”
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said he is very confident “that this year we will exceed last year’s performance and post another impressive level of delivery”.