ALMOST sixty adults in Donegal accessed emergency accommodation in the county last month, according to new figures from the Department of Housing.
During the week of September 18 to 24 a total of 57 adults accessed emergency accommodation in Donegal which is up from 55 the previous month.
Across the north west 126 adults needed assistance from local authorities in the region, 98 males and 87 females. The majority of these were aged between 25 and 44 (76) while there were five people over the age of 65 recorded as homeless in the north west in September.
There were fourteen families homeless across the north west last month including 29 children.
Nationally 12,827 were recorded as accessing emergency accommodation in September – a 1.1 per cent increase on the previous month.
The most common reason for presenting as homeless was relationship breakdown/ family circumstance.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien said those without a home remain a top priority for the government.
“As we can see from the monthly report for September unfortunately, there has been a further increase in the numbers of people in emergency accommodation and the reasons for this remain varied and complex. The government, local authorities and those in our NGO sectors are working together and making every effort to reduce homelessness. We can see some of this hard work paying off in terms of the significant increases in preventing people from entering emergency accommodation and helping people to exit,” he said.
“However, the situation is very challenging and tackling this issue is a Government priority. We know that increasing the supply of new homes, particularly social and affordable homes, is key to tackling homelessness.”
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