The number of homeless people in Carlow has increased by 56% year-on-year, against the backdrop of record national figures.
64 people accessed emergency accommodation in the county in September, that’s up from 41 at the same time last year.
The year-on-year comparison follows the Department of Housing’s release of the September figures yesterday.
There’s been a slight decrease in Kilkenny with 43 people homeless, that’s down 2 on the previous year.
Both counties saw a slight month-on-month rise, with Carlow up two and Kilkenny up by one.
An unprecedented 18 thousand and 65 people were found to be living in emergency accommodation in September, almost 6,000 of thousand are children.
The delay in the release of the figures was down to industrial action, however the numbers reveal a jump of 180 people compared to August.
Ber Grogan, Executive Director of Simon Communities Ireland, says there is no joy for these children in the run up to Christmas,
“Every month the figures come out, and we try to think of new ways of saying how horrific it is. We have nearly 6,000 children in emergency accommodation.”
“It’s inconceivable to think that in such a rich country with so many vacant properties, so much money, that so many children are coming up to the Christmas period and they’re in insecure accommodation. It’s not a moment of joy for them right now, you know, it’s – it’s absolutely heartbreaking,” he added.
