Latest news with #OmbudsmanForChildren
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Homelessness is ‘too high and we have to do better', admits Harris
' Homelessness is too high in Ireland and we have to work every day to do better and do more,' Tánaiste Simon Harris has said. He made the admission after fresh criticism on how homelessness is affecting children in emergency accommodation and news coverage about rough sleepers in Dublin. On Tuesday, Nuala Ward, a senior official at the office of the Ombudsman for Children, told the Oireachtas housing committee that child homelessness is a 'national shame' with a 'devastating impact' on the children involved. Of the 15,580 homeless people living in emergency accommodation in April, 4,775 were children. READ MORE Separately, The Irish Times reported on how up to a dozen rough sleepers are living in a makeshift camp surrounded by rubbish and rats under the M50 road . Mr Harris admitted that homelessness is 'too high', while also defending the record of the Government in its attempts to resolve the crisis. He said the key to tackling the homelessness issue is the 'supply of a whole variety of homes, including social homes'. He said the Government is working on making it easier for local authorities to get through the approval process for new social homes more quickly. [ Opinion: The housing crisis could erode Ireland's middle class to a point of collapse Opens in new window ] The Fine Gael leader also said: 'Last year, we did see the highest number of social homes allocated than any year since the 1970s, so that's part of the record of my party and of Fianna Fáil in Government, actually delivering more social homes last year than any time in my lifetime.' He said the Government's 'North Star' is to 'get to 300,000 homes over the next five years, and I believe that's what success will look like'. Mr Harris also said: 'I don't in any way, any way, underestimate the scale of the housing crisis . It is a housing emergency. 'It's a very real and acute emergency for people, particularly families, challenged in relation to their housing today, and that's why we need to break down every silo that exists in the State. 'Housing can't just be an emergency for the Minister for Housing, the Department of Housing or people in need of housing. 'It has to be an emergency for every part of the State' including the chief executives of local authorities and utilities such as Uisce Éireann and the ESB and 'every county councillor who needs to realise their job isn't to object to houses, but build houses'. Mr Harris was speaking as he accompanied Minister for Housing James Browne to officially open 133 new cost-rental homes delivered by South Dublin County Council in Tallaght. Mr Browne, a Fianna Fáil TD, said homelessness was 'foremost' in his mind when he became Minister earlier this year and the first thing he did was meet homelessness organisations and visit emergency accommodation. [ Analysis: Tough decisions to tackle housing crisis are under way – but will they work? Opens in new window ] He said higher rents cause higher homelessness internationally, and that by increasing supply 'we get rents down and we'll also help to get homelessness down'. He said the extension of Rent Pressure Zones and plans to improve security of tenure for tenants 'will help to prevent people going into homelessness as well.' Mr Browne said: '40 per cent of everybody going into homelessness is as a result of a notice to quit' and when the new legislation comes in people will have security of tenure. While homeless numbers reached a new record high in April Mr Browne also said there is 'record prevention' of homelessness as well and people are being exited from homelessness as quickly as possible.
BreakingNews.ie
24-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Government's housing initiatives are failing children, says ombudsman
The Government's housing initiatives continuously fail children and do not even consider them, the Ombudsman for Children has said. Dr Niall Muldoon told the Oireachtas Committee on Housing that families and children are 'sinking' in homelessness, despite Ireland being the third richest country in the world. Advertisement He told the committee that children being forced to live in emergency accommodation will affect every aspect of their lives, from development, education and self-worth. Dr Muldoon has called on the Government to bring in specific measures to address child and family homelessness. The committee was told that the State has been aware of family homelessness since 2015. 'We said we need to focus on families and children. We feel that has not been taken on board,' Dr Muldoon. Advertisement He said that focus has been placed on investment in private properties and landlords but that 'we don't hear about children suffering at hands of the crisis'. 'There was talk of bringing in a constitutional right to housing – that didn't happen. There is a consistent failure to bring children into the discussion (about homelessness),' he added. Rory Hearne said that children are invisible in homelessness. Photo: Niall Carson/PA 'Children are seen as an add-on. 'Children have rights to housing and shelter and when they don't have it, it is devastating. Every initiative seems to fail and not even consider children. That is our exasperation.' Advertisement As of February, there were 4,653 children experiencing homelessness. This represented a significant increase, with 483 more children experiencing homelessness compared to February last year. Mary Hayes, director of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, said homelessness in Dublin is 'relentless'. Ms Hayes told the committee there is 'an acute need' for large accommodation to meet the needs of families in the capital. Advertisement 'We are concerned about the drivers of homelessness, we have to respond and react to them,' she added. 'There has been a relentless increase in homelessness and we cannot keep pace of housing supply. 'I have some hope for the private rental to address security of tenure. I think there should be things to support people better with rent arrears. I do not want to give up.' Dr Muldoon said that children living in emergency accommodation are facing an 'abnormal childhood'. Advertisement He also warned of the dangers of normalising child homelessness. 'The normalisation for the child will make them think, this is all I deserve, no one is coming to help me. That will effect them for their entire life. 'There are solutions that should have been put in place a long time ago. 'It's about trying to create a world where we say you are worth us changing this.' Tricia Keilthy, head of policy at the Ombudsman for Children's Office, said there should be an emphasis on ensuring prevention is funded properly. Ms Keilthy also called for a full incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 'That is the radical change we need,' she added. Social Democrats TD and spokesman for housing, Rory Hearne, said that children are invisible in homelessness. He also queried whether there would be a future redress scheme for child homelessness as the state is failing to protect them. Ireland Homeless figures hit 'shocking' all-time high of m... Read More Nuala Ward, from the Ombudsman for Children's Office, said: 'We hear about children sitting in bathrooms while their mammies put their younger siblings to bed. 'We have heard from children, that shame does not leave you and that is what we are doing to children. 'Should there be a redress scheme? Can you give children back their childhoods? No, you can't.'
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Child homelessness a ‘national shame', TDs and Senators told
Child homelessness is a 'national shame' and those affected cannot be given their childhoods back, TDs and Senators have been told. The remarks were made by Nuala Ward, the director of investigations at the office of the Ombudsman for Children during an appearance at the Oireachtas Housing Committee on Tuesday. The committee met to examine the challenges to tackling homelessness Of the 15,580 homeless people living in emergency accommodation in April, 4,775 were children. READ MORE A statement submitted to the committee by Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon said children have 'borne the biggest brunt' of the homelessness crisis. Mr Muldoon said: 'The impact of homelessness and unstable living conditions on children is catastrophic' and it 'affects every aspect of their lives; education, wellbeing, self-development'. During the meeting, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne asked the representatives of the Ombudsman's office if they 'see a future requirement for a redress scheme for children who've been through homelessness, given that the State is failing to protect them'. Ms Ward described the situation as 'a national shame', adding that 'we have children in this country growing up, not just for a few months, but growing up in B&Bs and hotels and we're paying State money to private providers for this type of accommodation that is having a devastating impact on children.' She described them sitting in bathrooms trying to be quiet while their mother is putting a sibling to bed. 'We've got children who are devastated because their pet dog or their hamster is not allowed in family hubs,' she said. 'They've had to leave them behind with granny or leaving behind with the auntie. Can you imagine that?' She said the most important point heard repeatedly from children related to growing up in poverty. Ms Ward said: 'I'm not sure if anybody here has grown up in any state of poverty, or can remember being deeply ashamed of not having something or being known that you're poor ... that there's something different to you from your peers. 'That shame doesn't leave you and that's what we're doing to children. 'So should there be a Redress Scheme? Can you give children back their childhoods? No, we can't. So that would be what our view would be on this.' Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin later said it was 'hard not to feel utterly depressed' at 'yet another housing committee meeting having the same conversation'. He said the number of children in emergency accommodation has increased by 442 per cent in a decade. 'I know numbers don't convey, Nuala, the points that you made. I understand that completely,' he said. 'But thousands upon thousands upon thousands of children have been forced into long-term stays in emergency accommodation during that period.'
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Children have ‘borne the biggest brunt' of homelessness crisis
Children have 'borne the biggest brunt' of the homelessness crisis, TDs and Senators will be told. The Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon is expected to make the remarks during Tuesday's meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing. The committee, which is to examine the challenges to tackling homelessness, will separately hear that spending on homeless services in Dublin has increased by 337 per cent over the last decade. In his opening statement Mr Muldoon is to tell the politicians that 'over the past 10 years the crisis of homelessness, but in particular child homelessness, has grown exponentially'. READ MORE 'As Ombudsman for Children I have made recommendations, met with Ministers and officials, but still every month the number of children who are living in homeless accommodation continues to grow.' Mr Muldoon will outline how his office published its No Place Like Home report in April 2019 on children's views and experiences of living in family hubs (a form of emergency accommodation). At the time there were 3,784 children in emergency accommodation. This dropped to 2,193 in April 2021 when the pandemic-era eviction ban was in place. Mr Muldoon will say the number 'has climbed every April since – 2,944 in 2022, 3,594 in 2023, 4,214 in 2024 and 4,775 in 2025, which are the most recent figures available.' Overall 15,580 people across all ages were homeless in Ireland at the end of April. Mr Muldoon will tell the committee that 'the impact of homelessness and unstable living conditions on children is catastrophic' and it 'affects every aspect of their lives; education, wellbeing, self-development'. [ Number of children in consistent poverty rises by `staggering' 45,000, report shows Opens in new window ] He will say that 'housing has been identified by the Taoiseach as the 'number one issue' for the current Government. And so it should be. 'The trouble is that the seriousness of the housing situation has been known for almost a decade now, and because of its longevity the effects have rippled across all of our society. 'Children, however, have borne the biggest brunt of the ongoing crisis and we cannot forget that.' He adds: 'The move away from local authority housing during the economic crash of 2008 has led to a situation now where we are consistently failing more and more children and families who are falling into homelessness. 'It is exasperating for me to repeatedly have to make these points, but it must be said again and again: even short-term exposure to homelessness can have a lifelong impact on children.' Separately, the director of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) Mary Hayes is expected to outline the increased cost of providing homeless services in the capital over the last 10 years. The committee will hear that Dublin provides accommodation and services to approximately 72 per cent of the adults experiencing homelessness nationally. Ms Hayes says that under exchequer arrangements, local authorities must provide at least 10 per cent of the cost of homeless services from their own resources. She adds: 'Expenditure has increased by 337 per cent over the last decade, with the majority spent on emergency accommodation.' A table provided as part of her opening statement shows homeless service expenditure of €73,365,255 in 2015 rising to €320,336,703 last year. The spend in 2025 is expected to be €355,541,935. Ms Hayes says: 'Emergency accommodation is very costly in both human and economic terms and is where most of the funding is spent each year. 'There is a strong will to move away from contracting from the private sector but that can be difficult when the immediate demand for emergency accommodation is so high.'
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Dublin school cancels ‘Prayer for Palestine Day' amid ‘differing opinions'
A primary school, which cancelled a planned 'Prayer for Palestine Day' this week after some parents raised concerns, has said it was obliged to accommodate 'differing opinions' on the initiative. Mount Anville Primary School, in the Kilmacud/Stillorgan area of south Dublin , sent a letter to parents on Monday outlining its plans. It was intended to educate pupils on Palestinian culture in the hope of raising awareness of the 'unprecedented hardship and starvation' facing children in Gaza. However, a cancellation letter was issued the next day by the school's board of management in order to ensure the event would not be 'misconstrued or politicised in any manner'. READ MORE In the initial letter, school principal Angela Munro, said: 'Each class will engage in activities suitable to their age and stage to raise awareness of Palestine.' Resources were prepared by the school's teachers with a focus on Palestinian culture, art, music, food, and geography. Ms Munro cited the school's Sacred Heart ethos 'of social awareness that impels us to action, reaching out in compassion and solidarity with the innocent children of Gaza who are suffering unprecedented hardship and starvation'. She said the school community would use the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 'as our guide' when praying for the children of Palestine during an assembly. She added that they would be availing of resources provided by the Ombudsman for Children's Office in Dublin. However, on Tuesday, the board of management wrote to parents, informing them that 'the proposed Prayer for Palestine Day has raised concerns among some members of our school community'. 'In order to ensure that our intention, which was purely educational, is not misconstrued or politicised in any manner, we have decided that it will no longer go ahead.' In a statement to The Irish Times, a spokesperson for the school said: 'We have carefully listened to all views expressed on this sensitive matter. We appreciate there are differing opinions, which we are obliged to accommodate. 'We have engaged directly with the school's community. Our primary focus remains the education, wellbeing and care of all our pupils.' While the school shares the same name as nearby Mount Anville Secondary School, a private school which counts former president Mary Robinson as an alumnus, the two schools are distinct and not associated with one another.
