DUBLIN IS AT the epicentre of homelessness in Ireland. Homelessness is deeply isolating and stigmatising for those experiencing it, but in a large city it is also a collective experience. When we fail to provide enough homes for our whole community, the consequences are felt not only by those forced into emergency accommodation or onto the streets, but by the city we all share.

This is why homelessness must be part of any serious conversation about Dublin’s future. Improving our capital city means directly confronting a failure that continues to impact thousands of its residents. Every policy, every service provided, every state and semi-state body should be operating in the context of the reality that Dublin has an enduring and systemic homelessness crisis.

Seven in every 10 people experiencing homelessness are in the capital. More than 12,000 people in the city now are in emergency accommodation, an 8% increase compared to last year, while the numbers of those sleeping rough are increasing too. The latest monthly homeless figures show that the people residing in emergency accommodation increased by 358 last month to 17,885, a new record. Of the 7,304 single adults in emergency accommodation nationally, 4,881 are in Dublin.

Figures released to RTÉ One’s Prime Time found that one in 10 people who are homeless are living in a very small, confined area of the north inner city.

We at Dublin Simon Community would like nothing more than to become less necessary. We want to be shrinking, not expanding. We want homelessness to be prevented, rather than managed after it has occurred. Yet the reality is that our services are needed now more than ever.

Why are we ignoring........

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