Homelessness is still a significant problem and Government has allocated €220million to prevent homelessness, provide emergency and long term accommodation for homeless people. 

On a positive note, in the Dublin region a record number of homeless people were provided with permanent homes in the final months of 2020. 

In January the number of homeless families in Dublin fell to the lowest level since 2014 and government funding in the July stimulus resulted in more than 500 boarded up city council homes been refurbished and re-let. 

The number of single homeless people remains stubbornly high.  Still more must be done and Mary is committed to working to ensure our new Government tackles homelessness once and for all.   

At the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing Mary criticised the DRHE’s ghettoising of homeless people the over concentration of privately operated emergency accommodation in Dublin Central.   

Mary said the provision of emergency accommodation by private security firms does not meet homeless people’s needs. 

Mary called for wrap around supports to be put in place, key workers assigned to support the homeless people, independent inspections of the facilities and a plan to phase out their use.   

Thanks to the DRHE, Professor Eoin O’Sullivan, Alice Leahy and Una Burns for their informed contributions, click HERE for full meeting.