Menu
Ireland's political and cultural magazine
5 2 April 2017
T
HE YEAR from December 2015 to
December 2016 saw an astonishing
55% increase in child homelessness.
This same period saw a 28% rise in
adult homelessness nationwide,
meaning that child homelessness increased at
double the rate of adult homelessness.
The most recent data from the Department of
the Environment for February, show that adult,
child, and family homelessness all rose during
the month from January to February of this year.
There are now a record 2,546 children registered
as homeless in Ireland and 1,239 families. These
are the highest numbers ever recorded.
These children and their families are placed
predominantly in private emergency accommo-
dation such as hotels and bed and breakfasts
which are not designed for long-term
living and supposed to be tempo-
rary measures. However,
recent figures from the
Dublin Region Homeless
Executive show that 40%
of the families in emer-
gency accommodation in
Dublin have been there
for over 12 months, with
4% there in excess of two
years. Life for these chil-
dren and their families is a
torment.
Despite the rising figures, and
widespread commentary, very little seems
to be changing for the better. As one Barnardos
project worker stated in frustration, ‘there
seems to be homelessness fatigue – that’s just
the way it is”.
As a society we have a responsibility to these
children. Being homeless affects their mental
and physical health. It affects their education
and their key relationships.
Imagine packing your bag and going with your
family to present to the authorities as homeless.
Imagine the worries you would have about when
you would see your friends, or where you would
sleep, or how you would get to school. Imagine
how worried you would be for your parents.
Imagine not telling your friends where you live
because you’re embarrassed and think you
might be bulliedImagine not being able to play.
Imagine not having a place to do your home-
work. These, through of course no fault of their
own, are the realities for children living in hotels
and emergency accommodation units.
One Barnardos project worker visited a family
with a two-year-old in a hotel just before Christ-
mas, and was struck that the child’s ‘”whole
world was the space between the beds”. A child
cannot develop properly in a situation like this,
and this puts kids, and their parents,
under real pressure.
Another Barnardos project
worker said: “parents are
trying to do their best in
hotels, but they can’t
cook, and they’re walk
-
ing up and down the
corridor to get ice to cool
milk for breakfast, but for
dinner the children are
eating out of tins. Feeding
your child is so basic. There’s
a whole generation growing up
that have been robbed of this”.
It is welcome that there has been
increased funding for housing and homeless
-
ness for 2017 and there is a clear Government
priority to address the issue, under ‘Rebuilding
Ireland’. However, the slowness of our systems
to respond, escalating rent prices and the con
-
tinued lack of supply across all housing sectors,
have all combined to hamper the Government’s
efforts. By measuring the successes of the plan
against the initial targets, the plan is failing to
address the escalating figures and the escalat
-
ing crisis.
If we do not act immediately, within three
years we could have almost 10,000 homeless
children in Ireland, equivalent to 400 classrooms
full of children. The bitter truth is that child
homelessness is avoidable. There are a number
of very practical choices that the Government
could make right now to address the crisis.
First, the Government could prioritise the con-
struction of social housing. The Department’s
shift to dealing with the need for social housing
by payment of Housing Assistance Payment
(HAP) or Rent Supplement (RS) instead of by
increasing the numbers of social housing units
is short-sighted and insufficient.
Second, we need to be more proactive in keep-
ing families in their present homes. The reality
is that very often the current HAP and RS pay-
ments fall well short of the price of rent in a
number of areas. This increases the likelihood
that people will become homeless as they are
unable to afford to pay the full rent being sought.
RS and HAP payments should regularly be
reviewed in line with market rents and there
should be more discretion for circumstance-
driven increases.
Third, the Homeless HAP pilot could be rolled
out across the country. It has proved effective in
the Dublin region.
Last, the transfer of families out of emergency
accommodation should also be done in a more
co-ordinated way to ensure the integrated tran
-
sition of families into the community, connecting
families to local schools, health services, and
transport links. Tellingly, the Government’s own
commitment that by mid-2017 hotels will only be
used in limited circumstances to house families
is now very unlikely to be met.
Aoife O’Driscoll is Policy Development Officer,
Barnardos.
Homeless
p
Governmen hs choices o reduce
child homelessness: build more socil houses,
increse HAP nd RS pymens o keep
fmilies in heir homes, exend he HAP pilo
nd ensure rnsfers ou of homeless
ccommodion re sensiive o needs
by Aoife O’Driscoll
Mi
d-East
5%
Midlands
1%
North-East
2%
North-West
1%
West
4%
Homelessness by region
20 - 26 February 2017
Dublin
68%
South-West
7%
South-East
6%
Mid-West
6%
December 2015 to
December 2016 saw
an astonishing 55%
increase in child
homelessness
OPINION
