In County Kildare 179 People Accessed Emergency Accommodation In September

Friday, 28 October 2022 15:50

By Caoimhe Harney

Almost 11,000 people nationally accessed emergency accommodation during that time

In County Kildare 179 people accessed emergency accommodation in September.

For the third month in a row, there's a record number of people living in hotels and B&Bs nationally.

In September a total of 10,975 people accessed in emergency accommodation.

In the Mid - East Region 421 people accessed emergency accommodation during the same period, which includes counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

The county breakdown is as follows, Kildare 179, Meath 197 and Wicklow 45.

The figure is 29 per cent higher than last September, 19 per cent up on the start of this year, and 37 per cent higher than April 2021 - which was a low during the pandemic.

It includes 3,342 children who are growing up in B&Bs and hotels - the highest figure since the start of the pandemic, when extra supports were put in place.

The Department of Housing has highlighted that nearly half of single people and families were only in emergency accommodation for six months between June and September.

Minister Darragh O'Brien said the situation is "very challenging", and said money to fix the issue isn't an obstacle.

The totals released every month by the Department of Housing do not include refugees or asylum seekers without a home of their own, nor does it include women in refuge centres, rough sleepers or the so-called hidden homeless.