THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
One balmy night, in the recession-ridden 1980s, I was coming from a drinks do, walking down Dublin’s Grafton Street to the taxi rank at the then Central Bank. I came upon a man, fortyish, sitting on the ground against a railing by Trinity College, a cap in hand begging for any loose change. I gave him some, and then, for some reason, I sat down beside him, offering the company of a somewhat inebriated me. “Not many offer to say hello,” he said, and began his story.
He had lost his job as a salesman for a global clothing firm, and turned to drink as a coping mechanism. His mortgage payments faltered and he was finally foreclosed on, along with his young partner. The lack of anything to hold on to took its toll and the couple went their separate ways, he to living rough.
The homeless, like the poor, have always been with us. Losing a roof over our heads is a fear deep in our psyche, buried in our history — hence the onetime need to ‘own’ our own home, putting us among the highest percentage of homeowners in Europe.
Homelessness is nothing new, but its numbers have rapidly risen in the last decade. Today, it stands at 16,996, with 5,000 children in that quota.
Until recently, many had a misconstrued image of the homeless as someone who was poor to begin with, or had addictions or mental health issues or a criminal record, or was just long-term unemployed. Granted, such people can be homeless, often long-term. However, among those 16,996 souls without a roof over their heads are people who have had to quit their rented accommodation because the landlord wants to sell or go down the Airbnb route, and there is nowhere else to rent; or single people whose sole salary makes mortgage or rent affordability nigh-on impossible.
Death at a young age happens among our homeless — due to exposure to weather, addiction or mental health issues. We read about it every other month and conveniently turn to the next page. The son of a woman found dead in her tent on a busy Dublin street said her family had “tried so hard” to get her off the streets, but the system “failed her”.
Natasha Smith (43) was a mother of two. She was found unresponsive on Pearse Street, near the Garda station. She had been living on the streets for 17 years.
Stephen (21), her youngest son, said her life unravelled after she had two children. “Her life was going so well. She had Lee, my brother, who was in hospital for five months with severe meningitis. Then she became pregnant with me and she just changed, according to my nanny. No one could understand why,” he said.
It would be no stretch of the imagination to say that Natasha Smith likely suffered from postpartum psychosis, which went untreated.
Meanwhile, elderly people are increasingly facing homelessness. Soaring rents and an acute shortage of affordable accommodation have led to a 12% jump in just 12 months in the number of seniors being shown the door. The number of people aged 65 and older now reliant on emergency homelessness support rose to 267 in November last, up from 238 the previous January.
The figure has more than doubled in five years, rising by 119% since January 2020, when 122 elderly people were reliant on emergency support. Experts fear spiralling rents, the cost of living and other issues are core components of this worrying trend. A Department of Housing study indicated that, in January 2025, there were 238 elderly people facing homelessness nationwide.
Last year’s newbuilds were 36,000, up by 6,000 on the previous year but nowhere near what’s needed to meet the target for 2030.
Meanwhile, the numbers rise, the madness continues. Tenant-in-situ purchases are down 70%. There is no insightful plan, despite what Government promises.
Families are unable to occupy 67 new apartments amid “extraordinary” delays in the signing-off process. Oaklee, an approved housing body which denied any funding problem, is in charge of two delayed projects in Dublin suburbs, with homes worth up to €35m in total.
It appears red-tape squabbles are contributing to delays.
Meantime, that hoary old chestnut is back, with the chair of the Dublin City Council (DCC) housing committee suggesting the authority adopt a policy to “encourage people away from the city”.
Talk about rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic…
