The Simon Communities in Ireland say that figures released today from the Daft.ie 2017 Q2 Rental Report indicating rents have reached an all new high, show the private rental market continues to struggle in coping with demand. The housing and homelessness organisation say the rental market is not capable of delivering the housing needed to respond to the current housing and homeless crisis, given the sheer scale of the problem.

·      91% of [630] properties available to rent are beyond the reach of people dependent on state housing benefits, the Locked Out of the Market snapshot study by the Simon Communities in Ireland has found. Only one of these properties were available to rent for a single person within Rent Supplement/Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) limits and only two properties were available to couples within these limits over the three-day study period. Overall, the number of rental properties on the market has dropped significantly; crucially, the number available to people in receipt of state housing payments has decreased to just 9% of all properties, indicating an increasing gap between Rent Supplement/HAP limits and  market rents.

The Simon Communities in Ireland have welcomed the publication of ‘Census of Population 2016 - Profile Homeless Persons in Ireland’ by the CSO. The housing and homelessness organisation said that regular data was vital to ensure that the needs of people who are homeless can be responded to appropriately. They said the figures showing an increase of 81% in people who are homeless since 2011 were unsurprising but deeply concerning.

The Simon Communities in Ireland have said that it is deeply worrying to see the numbers of people who remain trapped in emergency accommodation continue to climb to a record 7,941 according to figures released for June 2017 by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

The Simon Communities in Ireland have welcomed the publication of the new National Drugs Strategy 2017-2025. The housing and homelessness organisation said that the broad move away from criminalisation of drugs towards a health-led, harm reduction focus is particularly welcome. The organisation said that the acknowledgment that people who are homeless are at a far higher risk of problem drug use than people in secure housing was significant and warmly welcomed. The Simon Communities also called for an implementation plan that includes detailed targets and timelines to enhance the Strategy.