Government urged to dedicate portion of social housing to long-term homeless

Homeless charity Focus Ireland is calling on the government to adopt a policy that dedicates a portion of the new social housing supply to long-term homeless families.

The call comes as the charity launched its annual report on Tuesday which highlighted a 12.5 per cent increase in the number of people it supported in 2023.

A strategy of dedicating a portion of new social housing to long term homeless families had been instrumental in significantly reducing homelessness during the pandemic, chief executive Pat Dennigan told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland

In advance of Budget 2025 and with the prospect of a general election, Focus Ireland urged that more accommodation become available for those on the emergency accommodation protocol.

The Focus Ireland report showed that it supported 18,000 people in 2023, compared to 16,000 in 2022.

The report also showed Focus Ireland helped 1,757 households to either keep their home (657 households) or support their exit from homelessness (1,100)…