DUBLIN is facing a tsunami of homelessness once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, campaigners have warned.
Charities fear that thousands more will be out on the street once temporary pandemic measures, including the eviction ban and rent freeze, are scrapped.
Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) chief Cllr Anthony Flynn told Dublin Gazette: “I can see thousands being made homeless in the next few months if the eviction ban is lifted.
“This tsunami has always been inevitable. It’s going to hit us very soon. We need to uphold that ban.”
- Street Feast calls on Dublin communities to come together for a national day of celebrations!
- Meath youth wows Britain’s Got Talent!
- Almost €1.75m in funding for 26 projects across Fingal
- Peer pressure revealed as number one deterrent of gum littering
- Heart attacks more likely to occur on a Monday reveals major medical study
New figures show DCC failed to meet six out of eight targets on housing in 2019, delivering just 90 new builds instead of the 302 promised.
The number of children in emergency accommodation almost quadrupled in five years to December 2019 to 3,422 – with three quarters of them living in the capital.
TURN HERE??
ICHH slammed Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy for removing hundreds from the official homeless statistics as they were moved into short-term holiday lets.
Cllr Flynn also accused Dublin City Council of “moving homeless families around like chess pieces” without any real long-term plan.
He said hundreds had been put into holiday apartments and removed from the official statistics – but were not afforded proper tenancy rights.
Warning that families would be back in emergency accommodation when tourism picks up again he said: “These contracts are appalling and evasive to say the least.
“There is a complete lack of security of tenure and no certainty within these contracts for the tenants.
“The council are playing games with people to reduce overall homeless figures. Hundreds have been removed from lists and into short term lets…
- Street Feast calls on Dublin communities to come together for a national day of celebrations!
- Meath youth wows Britain’s Got Talent!
- Almost €1.75m in funding for 26 projects across Fingal
- Peer pressure revealed as number one deterrent of gum littering
- Heart attacks more likely to occur on a Monday reveals major medical study
“But these people are still homeless. They can be removed from these units to a hotel or B&B at any point. They remain homeless.
“The tourist industry will eventually want these units back. With a one bedroom unit costing €2750 per month, this is mismanagement of public funds.”
Last week it emerged that the number of people looking for help from one city centre charity has increased by 20% in less than a fortnight.
And the Mendicity Institution, which offers food and daytime services to the city’s homeless, warned that the true numbers could be even higher.
Its CEO Louisa Santoro said: “That doesn’t include people that we’ve had to turn away, because we’re not the right service, because our priority is people who are sleeping rough.
“That’s a large number in and of itself.”
- Street Feast calls on Dublin communities to come together for a national day of celebrations!Street Feast calling on communities across Dublin to get together for a national day of celebrations! Street Feast, the national day of street parties and community celebrations, takes place on Sunday June 25. Get…
- Meath youth wows Britain’s Got Talent!With no vote coming from the Republic of Ireland, young Cillian O’Connor delivered yet another sensational performance on Sunday’s final of Britain’s Got Talent. The fourteen-year-old from Donacarney, East Meath…
- Almost €1.75m in funding for 26 projects across FingalFingal County Council has welcomed the allocation of €1,748,912 under the Community Recognition Fund for 26 projects across Fingal, writes Rose Barrett. Funding includes an allocation of €850,512 for eight…
- Peer pressure revealed as number one deterrent of gum litteringPeer pressure has been identified as the number one deterrent of gum litter, according to the Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT), the national awareness campaign which aims to make gum litter…
- Heart attacks more likely to occur on a Monday reveals major medical studyA major medical study indicates that people are more likely to have a heart attack on a Monday, the start of the working week. New research discussed at the British…
