Government Not Publishing Monthly Homeless Figures Due To ‘Incomplete Data’ And Ongoing Industrial Action

The homelessness crisis continues to deepen, both nationally and here in County Clare. The latest monthly figures, which were due to be published last Friday, were postponed by the Department of Housing because of ongoing public sector industrial action and incomplete data. The last available figures for August showed a record 17,885 people in emergency accommodation across the country, including almost 5,830 children. Here in Clare, approximately 103 adults were recorded as homeless, an increase of 31% on the same month last year. And there are growing concerns about the number of people seeking help locally, as well as those sleeping rough. On Monday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey looked beyond the statistics and heard about the reality facing people experiencing homelessness in our community. Joining Alan were Shane Doody, Homeless Support Worker and Shannon Sinn Féin representative, and Fiona Faulkes, who established the Mobile Shower initiative for homeless rough sleepers in Ennis. Photo (c) plp609 from pcess609 via Canva