Dublin: Number of homeless families passes 1,000 for first time

Homelessness charity Focus Ireland said more and more people are being made homeless

The number of homeless families in Dublin has passed 1,000 for the first time, according to figures from the Irish Department of Housing.

The figures, relating to the final full week in September, show a record total of 6,709 people are now homeless across the Republic of Ireland.

Of that figure, 5,058 people in Dublin were classified as homeless - with 1,014 families.

In August, the total number of homeless people in the Republic was 6,611.

The figures also show that 65 families became newly homeless in Dublin in September.

The homelessness charity, Focus Ireland, told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ that "inadequate prevention strategies" mean more than one family in the Republic of Ireland becomes homeless every day.

'Significant increases'

It said the reasons for the increase in homelessness were due to rising rents, as well as landlords selling their properties and leaving people with nowhere to go.

The charity's director of advocacy, Mike Allen, said it was in the power of the Irish government to tackle the issue, but while ministers have taken some actions they have not done enough, quickly enough.

The Department of Housing said it acknowledged that there had been "significant increases" in the rate of homelessness.

It added that "much is being done" to address the issue, and to secure sustainable tenancies for homeless families.

The department published its action plan for housing and homelessness in July.

It said the plan provides for "early solutions" to address the high number of households in emergency accommodation.