80.2% spike in homelessness in north west region in two years, says Pringle
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00:00 There were only 37 properties available to rent in the entire county of Donegal this
00:05 morning. Of these, none are affordable for those on HAP, and the reality is that households
00:09 facing eviction are most likely facing homelessness as well.
00:14 As Chairman on the Board of the North West Simon Community, I have seen the pressure
00:18 that voluntary homeless organisations are currently facing. The number of people homeless
00:22 in the region is increasing significantly every year. Last year, 539 people sought support
00:27 from the North West Simon Community, including 282 adults and 244 children, with 15% of the
00:33 referrals coming from Donegal County Council. The organisation provided social housing to
00:38 23 households in Donegal and Leitham, and assisted 239 households in relation to homelessness
00:43 or the risk of homelessness. Figures for July 2023 alone show that the emergency accommodation
00:49 was provided to 155 people. This is totally disgraceful. And Minister O'Brien's Housing
00:54 for All has completely failed. Since he published the Housing for All strategy in 2021, homelessness
01:00 in the North West region has not only increased, but has increased by a massive 80.2%. Over
01:07 80%, Minister. That is your Government's legacy, and it will continue to be your legacy
01:13 unless drastic measures are introduced in your Budget in two weeks' time.
01:17 Again, Deputy Pringle raised the issue of the failure of Housing for All. We certainly
01:23 don't agree with that. Housing for All is delivering, and we're all in agreement here
01:28 that supply is critical to addressing the crisis that we're in. The Government's Housing
01:33 for All plan is having a real impact in increasing housing supply. More homes are being built
01:38 and bought now than in a generation. Last year, we saw the most number of homes delivered
01:43 since 2008, and new developments are coming on stream. The latest monthly data on the
01:48 number of commencement notice residential construction starts for August 2023 show commencement
01:53 notice for 2,770 new homes were received by building control authorities in August 2023.
02:01 That's an increase of 30.6% on the number of new homes commenced in the same month last
02:05 year. The strong uptake in commencements this year has continued, and 21,316 homes have
02:12 been commenced in the first eight months of 2023. This is a 14% increase on the same period
02:17 last year, and a record when compared to similar periods since data series began in 2015. We've
02:24 made a very positive start to 2023. Latest CSO figures show that 7,353 new homes were
02:31 added to the national housing stock in quarter 2/23, and this is a 6% increase on the number
02:36 of new homes completed in quarter 1/23.