The MidWest has the highest rate of homelessness of any part of Ireland, outside of Dublin.
A Clare FM analysis of official homelessness data has found that Limerick has the second highest rate of homelessness in the country, and that homelessness rates in this county are significantly higher than most other rural counties.
That’s despite a slight decrease in the number of homeless adults recorded here.
In its latest update at the end of March, the Department of Housing registered 5,894 adults across the country as homeless.
Dublin accounted for the majority of adult homelessness, but the Midwest region – classified by the Department as Clare and Limerick – accounts for 5% of the the overall homeless population – a total of 284 adults.
The Department of Housing figures available refer to only adults, but the true rates of homelessness here are even higher as Clare County Council said recently that there are also 21 homeless children in this county.
A Clare FM analysis of this data shows homelessness here is at higher levels than anywhere outside of Dublin, on a per-head-of-population basis.
While Limerick has homelessness levels that are nearly double that of Clare, it’s still the case that just under six people per 10,000 in this county are homeless.
The only other counties with higher rates of homelessness are Kildare, Meath, Sligo, Carlow, Cork, Kerry and Galway.
