Rough Sleepers In Dublin Increase

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive has reported there was a minimum of 139 persons sleeping rough across the Dublin region. This is compared with the spring (April 2013) count, which confirmed a minimum of 94 persons to be sleeping rough.

The count on rough sleeping is an element of the annual Cold Weather Initiative that began on November 1 this year. The Cold Weather Initiative provides an emergency humanitarian response to the needs sleeping of persons who may be rough during cold weather providing dedicated additional beds to the existing number of beds available on a nightly basis in the Dublin region. In order to continue the effort to respond to the significant step- up in demand for services across the Dublin region, the four Dublin local authorities, in conjunction with voluntary homeless service providers have put in place approximately 80 additional temporary beds, since the Cold Weather Initiative began. In addition to this, plans are in place to further increase emergency accommodation in the immediate period.

Of the 139 persons confirmed sleeping rough:

• 111 (80%) were male, 20 (14%) were female and 8 (6%) were unknown

• 73 (53%) persons were Irish, 39 (28%) persons were not from Ireland and 27 (19%) were unknown

• 34 (24%) were aged 18-30 years, 37 (27%) were aged 31-40 years, 31 (22%) were aged 41-50, 12 (9%) were aged 51-60, 3 (2%) were aged 61+ and 22 (16%) persons were unknown.

• 87 persons previously accessed homeless accommodation and received support, 17 persons are new to homeless services and no information was available for the remaining 35 persons.

(CD)