Cllr Daithí Doolan, Sinn Féin Leader on Dublin City Council and European election candidate, has said that every day Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government, the worse Dublin’s homeless crisis gets.

He was responding to homeless figures released by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive confirming that there are 10,180 people homeless in Dublin, an increase of 1,415 over the past year.

Cllr Doolan said:

“Figures released by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive confirmed that homelessness hit a new record high in Dublin. There are 10,180 people homeless in Dublin. That’s an increase of 1,415 over the last 12 months. Shockingly that includes an increase of 543 children. This is totally unacceptable.

“Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien needs to wake up to the fact that the policies he is pursuing are the cause of this crisis.

“Homeless services are overstretched and underfunded. Extra funding must be immediately released to ensure these services can meet these new demands.

“We can end homelessness if we have the right policies. But this government continues to pursue failed housing policies.

“The housing crisis is causing misery for people. Every day that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government, the worse the housing and homeless crises get. They continually miss housing targets and fail to deliver the change that is needed.

“We urgently need a government that tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness. The solution is that we have a government that provides adequate funding to local authorities to build council and affordable housing that actually meets the housing needs of Dublin.

“Housing would be the number one priority of a Sinn Féin government.”