According to official data, there are currently almost 15,000 homeless people – including 4,645 children – living in emergency accommodation, mainly hostels and hotels.
Others, who are not reflected in these figures, have no choice but to live on the streets.
As Christmas approaches, Prime Time went out to meet some people who are homeless.
Chelsie, Christopher and Seán
Chelsie, who is 27, has been living in emergency accommodation in North Dublin with her partner Christopher and their infant son Seán for over two years.
They live in a single room in a hotel with 35 other families.
Seán has only ever lived in emergency accommodation, as the couple were evicted from their rental property just before he was born.
“Our property was put up for sale just before I was due to give birth to my little boy. We got an eviction notice five weeks before Seán was meant to be due. So, we ended up homeless just after Seán arrived,” Chelsie told Prime Time.
Chelsie says the couple’s double bed in their hotel takes up most of their room.
“We did have a cot for Seán, but he got too big. We asked for a bed, but were told ‘no’ because the room was too small. It would be blocking the fire exit.”
He now sleeps on a toddler mattress on the floor at the foot of their bed.
Given the conditions, the couple spend most of their time outdoors.
“Most days, we obviously try and get out of the room as much as we can. Obviously, it’s difficult with Seán. We’re very grateful for having a roof over our heads. But the circumstances are just not sustainable.”
Things are about to get even more challenging for Chelsie. She is currently eight months pregnant and is expecting another baby boy in the New Year. She knows from her experience with Seán how difficult it will be with a new baby.
“People don’t realise how stressful it is: the physical impact and the emotional impact. Trying to raise a baby in one room is very difficult and not only for his own development and his well-being.”
The couple have gone to multiple viewings for apartments but say they have never received a rental offer.
“They never said we don’t take kids. There was a viewing I went to and when I got there, she [the agent] said, ‘oh, I actually don’t think this is suitable for you’.”
Many landlords won’t take Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) either which is what they will be offering as part payment of their rent. Although Christopher has worked in construction for nearly 20 years, he is currently unemployed due to an accident.
Chelsie and Christopher’s only hope is social housing.
They are six years on the housing list as a couple and have been told it can take up to 10 years to get an offer of social housing.
“How can anybody wait 10 years for a social house?” Christopher said.
Christopher says its mental torture to have to stay in that room, to stay on the housing list.
“I don’t want to wake up in that room anymore. We’re sleeping, eating, and living on the double bed.
“Unless you come into these homeless places, they won’t put you on the council list together.”
At one point, they could have stayed with Christopher’s sister-in-law. However, they were afraid to take up the offer because they would have been taken off the list.
“We’d get nowhere because they think you have somewhere to live.”
For Christmas, they will spend time with relatives. It’s difficult to cook where they are, given the shared cooking facilities.
“There’s 35 families where I live. How are we going to get to cook when there’s people down there for two or three hours cooking?”
They said that they’re looking forward to getting out, as there is little Christmas cheer in the hotel.
“There’s not even a decoration. There’s not a Christmas tree for the kids. We had fairy lights in the bedroom. But they went to take it down because it was a fire hazard.”
Chelsie says she says she will keep fighting for her kids.
“Seán deserves to have his own bed. He didn’t ask to be brought into this situation. It’s about getting a home for my kids. After years and years of not having stability, I want the best for my kids. Nothing but the best.”
Michael
Michael, who is 31, has been living on streets in Dublin for the past seven months.
Originally from Killarney and with a qualification in marketing, he fell into homelessness after getting into a bad habits with a group of friends.
“All of a sudden, I fell into the odd bit of drinking and I started gambling. It just happened all of a slap. Like, within a few weeks, I was on the street.”
The last job he had was as a barman in Temple Bar earlier this year, but now he says his days are very different.
“A lot of nights you’re on the street and you’re wondering, am I going get attacked or robbed?” he says.
But over time he’s got used to it.
Meeting other homeless young people has made it bearable. “If you have friends that are going through the same thing, it really it gets you through it.”
He says he has been told that he is currently not eligible for emergency accommodation in Dublin because his last home address is in Killarney. So, he’s obliged to register in Kerry.
“They’re not available for a time anyway. Like, a lot of them are booked out this time of year,” he says.
Michael was however offered accommodation over Christmas by a passerby on the condition he wouldn’t drink during his stay. But he couldn’t face into it.
“I’m not an alcoholic, but I’m just saying around Christmas time, it’s nice to have a drink, isn’t it? So, I didn’t take it because I’d feel like I was missing out.”
But he says he will try and register for emergency accommodation in the new year.
“I suppose if I had a bed and I had somewhere to go in the evenings and you can plan your day and you can plan your week and because, you know, when you’re on the street, there’s no plan. It’s just you’re walking around and it’s like you don’t know where you’re going,” he said.
“A bed in a place to go is the starting point.”
Britney
Britney from Athlone is 22 and has been living on the streets of Dublin, on and off for the past two years.
She’s sought emergency accommodation, but understands she’s not priority in Dublin, as her last home address was in Westmeath.
She worked as a hairdresser in Athlone but her life changed when her dad died.
“I just lost my passion. I lost my past and everything. So, my head wasn’t really there for it anymore. So, it took me a while to get myself back. And then when I got back, I ended up here just trying to survive,” she said.
“It’s very, very hard day to day. It just gets worse. It gets colder. You get more tired. You get more depressed.”
She has seen a lot of things on the streets she would rather not have witnessed.
“A lot of people get hurt, get raped, get abused. A lot of people prostitute themselves. I’ve lost a lot of people along the way, and I’ve met some bad people as well.”
She doesn’t do drugs because she has lost family members because of addiction.
From “tapping” or begging she gets a little bit of cash. “Sometimes, if I can make enough, I’ll get myself a jacket or a pants or something just clean just to kind of get by, so I don’t look as bad.”
She has also bought herself a night’s stay in backpacker’s hostel “just to put her head down”.
“I didn’t choose this life. It’s just everyone looks at me on the streets and they think I choose this life. But it’s not the way I want to be. I want to make change for the better.”
Reporter Oonagh Smyth and producer Tara Peterman’s full report was broadcast on the 10 December edition of Prime Time on RTÉ One and is available to watch on RTÉ Player.
