There are nearly 16 empty homes for every homeless person in the country
The Government must urgently respond to the huge rise in homelessness over the past year, according to the Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan.
“There are now 10,325 people living in emergency accommodation, including 3,028 children. This is a 29% increase on this time last year when there were 7,991 people living in emergency accommodation.
“The Minister must take his head out of the sand and take urgent action to prevent even more people from becoming homeless. If the Minister does not act now the numbers of people who are without a home will break record levels in the next few months.
“There are worrying reports from parts of the country that, as emergency accommodation has run out, local authorities are turning away people who need help and have no-where to stay.
“We now have more than 10,000 people who are homeless and over 160,000 homes that are vacant. That’s nearly 16 empty homes for every person who is homeless. The Government must fast-track a tax on vacant homes to bring these homes back into use and stop making excuses for their inaction.
“The data released by the CSO yesterday shows that there are 35,000 vacant rental homes in Ireland. If these empty rental properties were brought back into use it would significantly reduce homelessness and take pressure off rents and renters.
“There is a real lack of urgency from the Minister for Housing – we need immediate action to increase the number of homes that are available and to reduce the number of people who are without a home.”
24 June, 2022
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