Homelessness levels in the Midwest region have jumped by nearly 30 percent in the past twelve months.
It comes as Clare County Council’s Homeless Action Team continues to deal with ‘unprecedented’ demand for its services for this time of year.
The Department of Housing says 387 people were considered homeless across the counties of Clare and Limerick in September.
That’s up from 299, or nearly a third, since the same month last year.
However, the number of people considered homeless in this county alone has remained relatively static in the same timeframe, though Clare and Limerick are known to share and co-ordinate its homeless service activity.
Around 60 percent of those who are homeless locally are male, while nearly half of them are children.
Around 4 in 5 are considered ‘Irish’, with around 12 percent either from Europe or the UK, and the remaining 8 percent from outside of the continent.
The local authority’s Homeless Action Team told Councillors earlier this month their emergency accommodation is now ‘at capacity’, with a waiting list in place to access it.
Presentations to the team locally in the past month were nearly double what they were in the same period last year.
Just eight counties have higher numbers of homeless people recorded in the last month than Clare.
Read the full report here
