Mary Hayes, director of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, says ‘there is no denying how bad the situation is’
Homeless numbers reached record levels this year, with latest figures showing a total of 14,966 people used emergency accommodation services in the last week of October, including 4,645 children in 2,161 families.
Of the 10,321 adults using emergency services, 7,388 of those were in Dublin.
“There is no denying how bad the situation is, specifically in Dublin,” said Mary Hayes, director of the DRHE.
“Dublin has 70pc of national homelessness, and a lot of national homelessness is a government issue.”
Data from the DRHE shows that, at the end of October this year, 376 families had been in emergency accommodation in Dublin for more than two years.
That represents a quarter of the 1,512 families in emergency accommodation in Dublin at the end of October.
More than half (56pc) of families in such accommodation are there less than a year, with 35pc of those there less than six months.
Alongside this, 3,448 children were residing in emergency accommodation in Dublin, marking an increase of 388 compared to October 2023.
Despite prevention measures and social housing supports, the number of families entering homelessness continues to outpace the number leaving it.
On average, 81 new families present for emergency housing each month, while only 58 families exit into tenancies.
To address this situation, a number of so-called “family hubs” were introduced by the Government in 2017.
The idea was for families to stay in these centres for a limited time, with the goal of providing more stability and support services while they waited for permanent housing.
However, 37 of these hubs are still in operation today, with many families staying far longer than expected.
The DRHE, led by Dublin City Council, is the primary body responsible for co-ordinating the response to homelessness across the Dublin region.
This includes collaboration with South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Ms Hayes said the immediate priority when she took over the role of director, was “less about having more hubs”, but there was a huge reliance on commercial accommodation such as hotels.
Mary Hayes, director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive
“The big focus for me was to get stable, contracted, private emergency accommodation,” she said.
“So what we’ve done now is we have a lot of stable emergency accommodation which was not in place back when hubs were brought in.
“Back then there was a reliance on the commercial sector, but it was night by night or week by week and we didn’t have contracts in place, standards and inspections.
“We have all of that in place now for the private emergency accommodation sector, so on the physical side, we now insist on standards being in place. There are independent inspections and our own inspections
.”
According to the latest available figures, the DRHE spent an estimated €226.2m on the delivery of emergency accommodation last year.
Ms Hayes said this was “the worst possible use of funds”.
“It does not represent good social, human or financial value, and every other type of housing option is better than emergency accommodation,” she said.
“We need to focus on fixing the supply issue, not just social housing, but stabilising the rental sector as well.”
She also acknowledged that once families enter homelessness, it becomes more difficult for them to leave.
“Once families are in homelessness, they are less willing to move out quickly, and it’s the security of tenure in housing assistance that becomes a major concern,” she said.
“There are myriad factors for people entering homelessness. You may have families who, perhaps, have a homelessness situation but haven’t applied for social housing until they came into the system.
“If you’ve got larger family sizes, that can be difficult and problematic.
“Homelessness is no longer about personal circumstances, it’s about needing sufficient supply.
“Notice of termination, for reasons such as landlord sale, is the single biggest driver of family homelessness in Dublin
.”
Speaking about what the DRHE would like to focus on with a new incoming government, Ms Hayes said she would like to “build on the momentum that was already there”.
“Housing First has been one of the really good things brought in by the last government,” she said.
“Even very chronic homeless people can still be housed as long as you provide enough supports around them.”
Speaking about what can be done to make families experiencing homelessness feel better around the festive season, Ms Hayes said the NGOs “go out of their way”.
“They make all sorts of efforts to normalise the experience for families, especially during Christmas,” she said.
“The NGOs are exceptional when it comes to just that little bit extra and try to make it a very child-friendly experience, even within the family services.
“We also recognise that families will perhaps want to go to their family’s home for Christmas and we can facilitate all of that throughout the Christmas period,” she added.
