Browne: it will be 'difficult to prevent' hitting point where 5,000 children are homeless
The latest homelessness figures, released last week, showed a record number of 15,747 people living in homelessness in the State. Included among
these are 4,844 children
— 69 more than last month.
Asked today by
The Journal
when we will see a drop in the number of people entering homelessness and if he expects to surpass the 5,000 threshold for child homelessness, Minister Browne said we're very close to it.
'The sense of direction, unfortunately, has been growing upwards, and we're very close to that 5,000. I don't want to see that threshold crossed, but it's going to be very difficult to prevent crossing over that 5,000, considering how close we are,' Browne said.
'No poor countries in the EU'
The Housing Minister also elaborated on reports that the government is planning to tighten up rules around who can access homelessness services in the State.
As reported by the Sunday Times
at the weekend
, the clampdown will impact migrants' access to social housing, prioritising people with 'strong, long-term connections to Ireland'.
Access to emergency homeless accommodation will also be restricted.
Advertisement
Asked about this today, Minister Browne confirmed that he will be bringing forward measures to prioritise people who are 'actually living in the country' and who are 'habitually resident'.
EU citizens who are homeless in Ireland will be asked to return to their home country, Browne said.
Browne said this is already done on an administrative basis, but that this is not a 'sound way' to manage our housing services.
He said the changes will give certainty to local authorities in relation to how they allocate services and that he thinks this is 'the right thing to do'.
'If somebody comes to Ireland from the European Union, there's no poor countries in the European Union, we would be asking people to return back to their own country if they are not in a position to meet the requirements under EU law to be able to sustain themselves,' Browne said.
'We would facilitate them to return to their own country if they're not here on a legally backed basis in terms of being able to financially support themselves.'
When it was put to him that this is a way to massage the homelessness figures by drastically reducing them, the Minister denied this charge.
Last
month's figures
show that 51% of the 5,609 adults in emergency accommodation were Irish, while 21% (2,263 people) were from the European Economic Area (EEA) or the UK.
Some 3,031 people, 28%, were from outside the EEA.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Harris to tell forum that 10% US tariffs are 'new normal'
Tánaiste Simon Harris will tell a trade forum today that US tariffs of 10% on exports from Ireland will be the "new normal" but that efforts are continuing to agree zero for zero taxes in some key areas. The meeting takes place a week before the scheduled lifting of a pause on higher tariffs by the US president Donald Trump. The Government's forum is comprised of State agencies, business groups, unions and senior ministers. At present most Irish exports to the US now have tariffs of 10%. But there are significant exceptions including Ireland's pharmaceuticals sector and computer chip manufacturers. Those arrangements were in place temporarily pending a trade deal between the US and EU but they could now become permanent. The EU is reportedly negotiating to keep some sectors free of tariffs and accepting 10% duties on other goods. Today's meeting will also hear an update on the new strategy for the computer chip industry. The forum will also receive an economic assessment of impact of tariffs from Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe. There will also be discussion about how Irish companies can diversify into new markets. Ahead of the meeting, the Tánaiste said Ireland needed an agreement "that has zero-for-zero or as near as possible in as many areas as possible". "We cannot ignore the fact that every single day the trading relationship between the EU and the US is worth more than €4 billion," Mr Harris said.
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘The exact number of minutes needed for children to become TikTok addicts' & the hidden dangers posed by ‘filter bubble'
IT'S an attention economy and social media companies will do anything they can to keep your eyes on the screen. Now, US President 2 It takes around 35 minutes for a kid to get addicted to TikTok Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Olga Cronin wants Dail reps to back a motion to force social media companies to stop using algorithms on children Credit: PR Handout The app has been ordered to find a This is due to concerns that Americans' data could be passed on to the Chinese government. But where is the concern about what these We all know the horror stories of worrying content about eating disorders, violence or misogyny being pushed the way of our So, campaign group People Before Profit has tabled a Here, Olga Cronin, senior policy advisor at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, tells Irish Sun readers why she believes it is important for all JUST 35 minutes – that's all it allegedly takes for a child to become hooked on Not only that — should a child appear interested in an unhealthy type of content, TikTok's algorithm feeds the child similar unhealthy content in a 'filter bubble'. TikTok users are placed in filter bubbles after just 30 minutes of use in one sitting. These disturbing details were revealed in confidential company documentation disclosed and referenced in a US Trump says he has 'very wealthy people' to buy TikTok after pushing back app ban Why? Because an opportunity has arisen for Irish politicians to support a new bill which could help end this predatory nature of manipulative, harmful and profit-driven social-media algorithms which push content concerning self-loathing, self-harm and ALGORITHMIC PROFILING As the recent Online Safety Monitor from the Children's Rights Alliance called for regulations to require algorithmic profiling to be disabled by default for child and young users, a bill has been put forward by People Before Profit providing for the same. The bill also states that any algorithms based on profiling or sensitive personal data should have to be actively turned on by adult users. The aforementioned US court filing is crucial to understanding why we must demand that these algorithms are turned off by default. TikTok's The court document, from a case taken by the state of "While this may seem substantial, TikTok videos can be as short as eight seconds, and are played for viewers in rapid-fire succession, automatically. Thus, in under 35 minutes, an average user is likely to become addicted to the platform.' THREE STAGES The filing notes how in an internal presentation devoted to increasing user retention rates, TikTok identified three 'moments' when forming a TikTok habit. First there is the Set-up Moment when a young user watches their first video. Next is the Aha Moment when TikTok's algorithm has begun to discern what content a user will respond to, after a child has watched 20 videos or more on their first day on the platform. And finally, there is what they call the Habit Moment in which 'new users start to form a habit of coming to TikTok regularly' which occurs if a youth has watched 260 videos or more during the first week of having a TikTok account. TikTok is aware of negative impacts on its users. The court filing notes how internal reports observed 'compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conver-sational depth and emp-athy, and increased anxiety' — and that 'compulsive usage interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/ And yet, the lawsuit alleges TikTok has failed to disclose these harms and continues to mislead the public. The document outlines how the platform's design exploits psychological triggers that cause compulsive usage, such as low-friction variable rewards (where users are randomly rewarded with engaging content), social manipulation (where users are encouraged to interact and engage with the content), and ephemeral content (which creates urgency by presenting time-sensitive material). CYCLE OF ADDICTION These features make it difficult for users to control their time on the platform, creating a cycle of addiction. But this is not just about TikTok. All Big Tackling this problem is long overdue and, if 35 minutes is all it takes to addict a young child to TikTok, time is not on our side. Politicians of all hues should get on board with this bill and have these manipulation machines turned off.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Poland to start controls on borders with Germany, Lithuania over migration
Poland will introduce temporary controls along borders with Germany and Lithuania on July 7th, prime minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, echoing several other European Union countries in reimposing frontier checks to stem illegal migration. Belgium , the Netherlands and Germany have also brought back border controls, underlining a public backlash against undocumented migration that has strained the EU's Schengen passport-free travel zone. 'We consider the temporary reintroduction of controls necessary to reduce the uncontrolled flows of migrants across the Polish-German border to a minimum,' Mr Tusk told a meeting of his cabinet. Mr Tusk's liberal government has been accused by nationalist and far-right opposition parties of accepting numerous illegal migrants being sent back from Germany. The government had argued that the numbers were limited. READ MORE [ EU cannot ignore what's happening in Poland and The Netherlands Opens in new window ] Debate over migration in Poland has turned increasingly heated in recent weeks, with far-right activists starting to organise patrols along the border with Germany. Germany said in February that it was extending its temporary border controls for six months. Mr Tusk, who has previously called on Berlin to do more to help its neighbours protect the EU's external border, criticised Germany's approach to migrants at its frontier, saying it placed excessive pressure on Poland. 'Poland's patient position after Germany formally introduced unilateral border controls is wearing out,' Mr Tusk said. He said it had become difficult to determine whether migrants being sent from Germany to Poland should really be returned there under EU rules stating that migrants should apply for asylum in the first member state they enter. German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that Germany wants to preserve the Schengen system, which allows passport-free movement, but this could only work if it was not abused by criminals who smuggle migrants. 'We know that the Polish government also wants to impose border controls with Lithuania in order to limit illegal border crossings from Lithuania to Poland,' Mr Merz told a news conference. 'So, we have a common problem here that we want to solve together.' Knut Abraham, the German government's commissioner for Poland, was critical of the tilt towards border restrictions. 'The solution cannot lie in pushing migrants back and forth between Poland and Germany or in cementing border controls on both sides,' he was quoted by Die Welt newspaper as saying. Lithuanian foreign minister Kestutis Budrys told a news conference that the Polish government had informed him about its decision, BNS news agency reported. '[We need to see] what measures should be most effective, while maintaining the expectation that they will not violate our common interest in having free movement of persons, and will also contribute to our goal of firmly and solidly protecting the external border of the EU and Nato,' BNS quoted him as saying. Poland has been facing what it says is a migrant crisis orchestrated by Belarus and Russia on its eastern border since 2021. Both countries deny encouraging migrants to cross. – Reuters
