Niamh Cullen

It’s clear to the public eye that in a county of small land mass boasting 1.2 million people, homelessness is very much at the heart of Dublin. According to the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation (IMHO), more than 25,000 people now face homelessness. It’s hard to believe that such a suggestion exists when a crisis lasting almost a decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in empty houses lying idle, and in severe overcrowding. In Ireland, vacant housing units rose from 140,000 in 2002 to over double with 289,451 in 2012 according to a report issued by Deutsche Bank. Their report translates that it would take 43 years to fill such a number of houses.

2011 Census Figures (Central Statistics Office) 

Figures for the Census 2016 are being eagerly awaited to summate the results of a post-recessionary outcome for both the capital and the country. But 2011 figures paint a telling picture with the little data available for current dates, and give an indication as to how little up to date data available could suggest some issues surrounding homelessness in the area. Of the 4,588,252 persons enumerated in April 2011, 3,808 were counted in both homeless shelters and on the streets. Of those figures, a staggering 1,590 homeless persons, or 41.8%, were located in Dublin.

Interestingly, significantly more females than males are displaced from residency across all areas. In Dublin, 2,375 women are homeless compared to that of 785 men.

Every enumerated person also reported a disability of some sort within the Dublin region. Reports ranged from psychological or mental illness with around one in six (16.8%) suffering from the condition, to just over one in ten (11.8%) enduring a condition that severely inhibits one or more basic physical activities.

Later Figures

Figures remain consistent in displaying a remarkable distinction in Dublin’s high disparity between itself and other areas in terms of housing. According to Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures, average house prices from 2011 and 2014 show sufficiently higher Dublin prices to the rest of the country. Average prices in across all years for Dublin stand at a staggering €338,202 (30%) compared to that of €217,646 (19%) in Cork, €204,302 (18%) in Galway, €185,009 (16%) in Limerick and €172,557 (15%) in Waterford.

According to a survey conducted by the Simon Community, 2,831 persons were sleeping rough or in sheltered accommodation as of September 2015.  Of those homeless, over half (52%) were single adults, while over one in four (28%) made up dependents, over one in ten (13%) made up families and just under one in ten (8%) consisted of single parents.

With a noted increase in Dublin’s homeless figures from 1,590 in 2011 to 2,831 in 2015, and with a disparity between Dublin and other areas in Ireland in terms of housing prices and overall homeless figures, a couple of suggestions could be made. Dublin’s high population in contrast to areas of lower population could be argued to account for higher property prices. Additionally, the number of households in Dublin according to 2011 CSO figures stood at 468,122. With 289,451 houses vacant in 2012 and a population of over one million, such high homelessness figures and rising house prices don’t seem to make sense. It seems that property prices in Dublin reflect a demand that shouldn’t be there, when there is clearly a dearth of properties lying idle. Additionally, the lower pricing of houses and lower homelessness rates could be argued to be swayed by lower population rates across the country.

With crisis levels of homelessness in Dublin, much has been proposed to combat the issue on a statutory level. The Government’s main aim seems to hone in on providing landlords with incentives to an issue they suggest is at the crux of housing demand: taking on families living on social welfare payments. According to the Independent, the Department of Environment has drafted proposals offering tax relief to landlords who sign up to the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

Another solution of interest is the roll out of modular housing, or factory built houses and prefabs that can be built and fitted within a day, which are supposedly to serve as temporary housing solutions. But are these solutions too little too late, and are they a temporary or irrelevant resolve to a long standing problem?