New Focus Ireland report shows the number of adults in emergency accommodation in Cork has more than doubled over the past seven years

The number of adults in emergency accommodation in Cork has more than doubled over the past seven years, according to a new report – Focus On Homelessness which analyses homelessness around the country by providing a detailed breakdown for each region. The number of homeless in Cork rose from around 200  adults in 2014 to 412 in June 2021. 

The report is a collaboration between Focus Ireland and the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. Since 2014, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) has published data on the number of adults and child dependents in Emergency Accommodation each month. In addition, over the same period, Quarterly Performance Reports and Financial Reports have contained data on the duration and cost of homelessness in Ireland. ‘Focus on Homelessness’ aims to make this substantial body of data available in an accessible and reliable format

Focus Ireland Practise Development Manager Gerard Spillane said: “The housing crisis in Cork has continued especially in the last four years as rents are now comparable with prices in larger cities. One of the reasons for the high number of adults who are homeless nationwide is that demand is completely outweighing supply. The lack of one bed bedroom apartments is also a serious contributor to the number of adults who are homeless in Cork particularly single people. An offset of the crisis in the city is that many individuals and families are now being forced out of City, to the many surrounding towns and villages.”

Adult individuals without accompanying children (often referred to as single homelessness) make up the majority of homeless households in the South-West. Of the 484 households in Emergency Accommodation in the South-West in June 2021, 90% were adult individuals without accompanying children and 10% were households with children. Of the households with accompanying children, the majority are single-parent families

The report also states

·       Cork accounts for 70% of adults in emergency accommodation in the Southwest

·       As of June 2021, there were 492 adults in emergency accommodation in the South West. This number has risen by 144% since June 2014, when these figures were first published. After rising to an all-time high of 608 adults in October 2019, the numbers  declined and has plateaued around 500 since mid-2020.

·       The total number of households in the Southwest homeless rose steadily from 2014 to 2019 and has since remained around 480

·       The highest number of households was reached in October 2019 at 560. It has since fallen by 14% and as of June 2021, there were 484 households in Emergency Accommodation in the South-West.

·       In June 2014, there were 10 families in emergency accommodation in the South West. This reached a peak of 143 in July 2019 and has since declined by 68%

·       Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a sharp drop in family homelessness nationally, with the number of families in the South-West falling by 59% in this period. As of June 2021, there were 46 families in emergency accommodation in the South-West

·       The number of children in emergency accommodation follows the trend of families in emergency accommodation and as of June 2021 there were 94 children in emergency accommodation. This is the lowest level since December 2016.

·       The highest number was reached in May 2019, with 318 children in emergency accommodation in the South-West. Since then, the number of children in emergency accommodation in the South-West has declined by 70%.

The report was authored by Eoin O’Sullivan is Professor in Social Policy at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, Mike Allen is Director of Advocacy in Focus Ireland and Aisling Reidy who was formerly a  Policy Officer with Focus Ireland