Dublin City Council tenders for as many as 2,000 more beds for future homeless

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) thinks it might need another 2,000 beds for homeless accommodation this year or the next two years, a recent tender suggests.

It estimates that it may spend as much as €1.2bn on the new beds, it says. The wording suggests that the sum would be spread over two years.

If it goes ahead it would be the largest expansion of homeless services in recent years and an indicator that those running homeless services expect the problem to get a lot worse.

Based on advice from a procurement specialist, the council “are obliged to inform the market on the upper range of any potential emergency accommodation requirement and as such we set this as the figure to inform the market accordingly”, said a spokesperson for the DRHE.

Mike Allen, director of advocacy with Focus Ireland, says there are indicators suggesting that homelessness is going to increase. “There is not sufficient housing supply becoming available,” he says.

The Dublin Homeless Network, which represents the large, state-funded homeless charities, has called for homeless services projections to factor in the large number of refugees, who have been granted asylum but are still living in direct provision, says Allen.

“Obviously we would much prefer them all to move directly into housing but some will be moved out and not find housing,” he says. “And they need to be accommodated in the homeless sector.”

It’s possible some facilities are closing too, and need to be replaced, says Green Party Councillor Janet Horner, who sits on the council’s homelessness sub-committee. Some contracts for private emergency accommodation started in 2019, and ran for five years, she says.

Nowhere to go

“The estimated additional Emergency Accommodation requirements for the DRHE for 2024 is estimated to be in the region of 2,000 beds per annum, subject to prevailing circumstances,” according to tender documents that Dublin City Council put out on 16 May.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in the Dublin Region has increased significantly in recent years.

Between March 2022 and March 2023, the number of adults in homeless accommodation increased by roughly 1,250, according to data from the Department of Housing. The number rose from around 4,890 to 6,140 .

Then between March 2023 and March 2024, the number of adults in homeless accommodation increased again by another 860 people to 7,000.

It is becoming more and more difficult for homeless people to find homes to move on to, meaning people stay stuck for longer in homeless accommodation and the numbers swell.

The DRHE tracks families with children who find homes.

In 2019, 470 families moved out of homeless accommodation into private-rented homes according to a recent DRHE report presented to councillors on the housing committee.

By contrast in 2023, only 149 homeless families in the Dublin region found homes in the private-rented sector throughout the year.

The number of families leaving homeless accommodation to go to permanent social homes also halved in the same time period.

In 2019, 626 families moved from homeless accommodation into permanent social homes provided by councils and housing charities. Whereas last year only 304 homeless families were housed in permanent social homes.

The problem, says Allen, is that there are still not enough homes being built nationwide and the lack of supply remains particularly acute in urban areas. “Overall supply is not sufficient to meet the demand,” he says.

It appears likely that securing accommodation in Dublin will continue to be very difficult over the next year or two and so homelessness will likely increase as a result he says.

Asylum seekers, refugees, and homelessness

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive does not provide accommodation to asylum seekers, including those who are sleeping rough.

However once the person is granted asylum in Ireland, they then become eligible for social housing support and can be asked to leave direct provision accommodation. And, can access emergency accommodation, too.

Allen says that the Department of Integration writes to the person several times to ask them to find their own accommodation.

For those who cannot find a place to live, the Department of Integration often offers alternative accommodation outside of Dublin, he says, which could also be tented accommodation.

Sometimes it’s not a reasonable offer for the person. “Quite a lot of them are working here too,” says Allen.

A nurse working in the Mater Hospital was recently told that she was going to be moved to Mayo, he says. It was difficult to negotiate for an exception in that case, he says.

Homeless charities the Peter McVerry Trust and Depaul Ireland provide support to assist people to move on from direct provision, says Allen. But the services are oversubscribed and the move-ons are slow, he says.

Horner, the Green Party councillor, says the DRHE managers want the Department of Integration to come up with a strategy to accommodate people who are granted refugee status and must move out of direct provision.

“I wouldn’t say they [the DRHE] are going to take it upon themselves without direction from the Department of Housing and the Department of Integration,” she says.

Then there is also the issue of how rules have changed for Ukrainians. The Department of Integration has said it will only accommodate new arrivals, for the first 90 days.

“No state-supported accommodation will be provided after the 90 days elapses, other than the supports provided through the Offer a Home or pledged accommodation schemes,” it says.

Allen says he doesn’t think this will impact homeless services though, because government ministers have said that Ukranians are not entitled to access homeless services.

He doesn’t understand on what legal basis the councils would refuse them though, he says.

The DRHE spokesperson says that responsibility for accommodating Ukrainian families rests with International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS). “The  statutory responsibility  for BOTP [beneficiaries of temporary protection] families, is with IPAS and again there is no policy change.”