Homeless statistics ‘just the tip of the iceberg’

The numbers of homeless people living in emergency accommodation in the West of Ireland was set to surpass 500 for the first time ever  – until Government ‘reclassified’ the figures.

The numbers of people in emergency accommodation in the west – which is mostly Galway – would have reached a record high of 529 in August under the ‘old’ way of counting.

However, the Department of Housing has ‘recalibrated’ what it terms ‘emergency accommodation’, which has resulted in an artificial decline in the official homelessness figures.

According to the new method of counting, which doesn’t include people living temporarily in apartments without proper tenancy, there was some 412 people in emergency accommodation (hotels and B&Bs) in the west, a decrease of 84 people on the previous month.

The Government have reclassified the national emergency figures three times this year in March, April and August. These reclassifications have prevented the official national figure from going over 10,000.

In the West, the reclassification in August means 117 people are no longer being counted as in emergency accommodation, reducing the official number from 529 people which would have been the highest figure ever on record.

Karen Golden, CEO of Galway Simon Community, said the official figures are not reflective of what is happening on the ground. She said a move to have the Central Statistics Office take over the counting of emergency accommodation figures would be most welcome.
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