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The number of homeless people in the state has risen for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Housing.
The increase was driven by a growing number of single adults entering emergency shelter, a category in official figures that has been on the rise since May.
Eileen Gleeson, director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, said this was because there was a “real lack of permanent affordable housing” for single adults.
Overall, the latest data shows that during the week of July 20-26, a total of 8,728 people were in emergency shelter in the state, up from 8,699 in June. A total of 9,907 people were living in emergency shelters in March, which was when the pandemic began to take hold in the state.
The number of homeless children and families continued to decline in July, with 2,651 children living in emergency shelter last month, up from 2,653 in June and 3,355 in March.
Data shows that there are now 4,413 single adults in homeless housing, up from 4,364 in June. The numbers have risen steadily since April, when there were 4,347 single adults homeless, and now nearly match the March figure of 4,414.
Homeless adults were predominantly found in Dublin, where there were 2,916 single people in emergency accommodation, up from 2,897 in June and 2,906 in March.
The charity Inner City Helping Homeless pointed to the government’s “removal of the ban on evictions” as a direct cause of the rise in homelessness. Cllr Anthony Flynn, executive director of the charity, described the increase of 29 people as the “calm before the storm” and predicted a “bigger jump next month and for the rest of the year until 2021.”
Simon Communities noted the rise in the number of homeless singles and said the recent spike in Covid-19 cases would create risks for people living in congregated settings, such as homeless housing.
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