Sinn Féin has claimed that nearly 3,000 people are being hidden from the Government's official homeless figures.

The party has warned that people accessing emergency accommodation provided Tusla and the departments of children and justice are not being counted in the official figures.

That is in addition to the 1,606 people who were removed from the Department of Housing count following three ‘re-categorisations’ this year.

The emergency accommodation figures also do not include rough sleepers.

Emergency accommodation

According to the latest Department of Housing figures, there were 9,724 accessing emergency accommodation in October - including 3,725 children.

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the true figure is 12,805.

"The real figure is closer to 13,000 and that is what we have detailed that in here," he said.

"I suppose what we are saying at this stage is, first of all, that the problem is worse than the Government is admitting.

"That means that the measures that are being put in place to tackle it are nowhere close to enough - we want an agreed methodology for next year.

"Then we think the figures must be handed over either to the CSO or to the Housing Agency."

Re-categorisation

The Department of Housing has insisted the 1,606 who were removed from its official count were being 'wrongly classified' as being in emergency accommodation while they were actually living in local authority-owned properties – or properties secured by the local authorities “under other arrangements.”

Deputy Ó Broin said they should still be classified as homeless.

"If you look at the rationale for removing families from the figures over three occasions this year, the argument is that these families are in 'own-door' accommodation," he said.

"They don't have tenancies - this is temporary emergency accommodation provided by local authorities.

"So these people are homeless and all of the State agencies -bar the department - and all of the academics and NGOs who are working in this field are saying the same thing."

Actions

He said the confusion over the figures affects the Government's "ability to provide the services required to meet the true level of need."

Sinn Féin is calling for four actions to provide greater clarity regarding the depth of the homeless crisis.

It wants:

• A meeting of the Homeless Consultative Committee to agree a methodology for the homeless reports.
• Responsibility for collating the figures to be handed to an independent body such as the CSO or the Housing Agency.
• Monthly reports to include rough sleepers, women and children in domestic violence accommodation, those in direct provision who already have leave to remain and those in non-section ten funded emergency accommodation.
• Monthly reports to include the number of emergency allocations for each department.

The Sinn Féin report can be accessed here.