The Simon Communities respond to new emergency accommodation figures which have highlighted the importance of the initiatives outlined in yesterday’s Rebuilding Ireland – An Action Plan for Housing and Homeless. Figures for one week in June show there are 6,358 number of men, women and children in emergency accommodation. This figure is up 11% since the start of the year from 5,715 in January. This reflects 1,078 families with 2,206 children up an almost 23% increase in the first half of 2016 (figures in January were 884 families with 1,191 children). There are also a shocking 2,695 adults with no dependants currently in their care trapped in emergency accommodation. Yesterday, the Simon Communities of Ireland welcomed the publication of the Rebuilding Ireland.

The Simon Communities of Ireland have welcomed proposals by Cabinet to increase Rent Supplement. The homeless and housing charity said that payment levels must be aligned with market rents. Rents have increased by 32.3% since April 2012 while rent limits have remained unchanged since June 2013. Rent supplement spend actually reduced by 40% between 2011 and 2015.

The Simon Communities in Ireland will appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness this afternoon. The charity said that people who are long term homeless must be prioritised for social housing and the right to housing should be enforced. The Simon Communities also said there should be access to affordable housing for all who need it using a Housing First approach and that people must be supported to stay in the homes that they have, preventing further homelessness. 

The Simon Communities of Ireland have welcomed the formation of a new Government, saying that the Government must immediately address the pervasive housing and homeless crisis which has worsened considerably since Election Day.

• Rents up 32.3% nationally while the number of properties available decreases by 77% since 2012.
• A total of over 13,000 social housing units were delivered in 2015 with only 28 house actually being built.
• The number of new private residential properties completed in 2015 was 12,666 compared to 93,419 houses in 2006.
• 70% of mortgages in arrears are in arrears for more than 90 days. 
• The number of people in emergency accommodation has grown to almost 6,000 people.