The eviction ban hasn't stopped the homelessness crisis from worsening, but the figures would have been much higher had the moratorium not been in place.

That is according to the Simon Community, which is calling for the emergency legislation to be extended until more action can be taken.

According to the Taoiseach, the eviction ban “didn’t work”.

It was brought in last October and will expire on a phased basis from April 1st, despite opposition parties also calling for an extension on it.

Wayne Stanley, Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, told On The Record that "it's hard to put into words" how he feels about the crisis.

The figure of 11,754 homeless people doesn't include the 'hidden homeless' - those who are still living with parents or are couch surfing.

"We're very cognisant of the fact that each of those numbers is an individual, is a parent, is a child, who's having to cross the threshold of a homeless service", Mr Stanley said.

"The staff across the sector are supporting people as best we can, but it doesn't negate the fact that crossing the threshold of a homeless service really is a trauma."

"A shameful number of people are having to suffer that trauma."

Explaining the lack of impact the moratorium has seemingly had on figures, Mr Stanley said that the driver of the increase "is actually the major urban areas".

"If you take out Dublin and Cork, actually the number of people in the rest of the country in total went down by 60", he said.

"Now that's not a big drop and it is only one month, but it does suggest that perhaps the moratorium is having more of an impact outside those major urban areas."

Hidden homeless

"Homelessness can be more complex than sometimes we describe it", he said.

"When we think about homeless, they think about that really traumatic experience, maybe rough sleeping.

"I think it's incorrect to say, and I know from talking to my colleagues on the front line in the Simon Communities around the country, there definitely are individuals with families who have been spared homelessness because the moratorium has been in place."

According to Mr Stanley, the crisis would be worse had the eviction ban not been in place.

"What we have to bear in mind is they didn't bring in the moratorium as a solution to homelessness", he said.

"They brought in the moratorium to give us a bit more breathing space.

"We were concerned and local authorities were concerned, telling the department, telling the government we were at capacity and there was a real risk that children would be forced to be sleeping in cars or even sleeping on the street."

Listen back to the full conversation here.

Main image shows a person wrapped in a sleeping bag in Dublin city centre in January 2021. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie