As the need for housing grows to crisis levels, the Government's response is not keeping pace, according to the director of Threshold.
Indications were that the situation would get worse in coming years, Mr Kieran Murphy said yesterday at the publication of Threshold's annual report for 2000.
As a result of the Estimates, the concern was that the social housing programme would be scaled back next year. There would be a 7 per cent increase in existing housing programmes.
"In our books, that reads cut-backs as there will not be sufficient funds to deliver on existing commitments. The scale and the pace of the Government's response is inadequate," he said.
The primary concern of the Government had been the rapidly increasing price of home ownership. The attitude seemed to be that with the Bacon reports, enough had been done.
The report showed that 20,000 people contacted Threshold's advice offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway, compared with 18,000 in 1999.
There was a 250 per cent increase in the numbers facing illegal evictions from private rented accommodation. This represented five a week.
More than 1,000 people contacted the Dublin office having received only four weeks notice to quit rented homes, more than double those in 1999.
There was a 50 per cent increase in the number of people facing rent increases.
Mr Murphy said there was a lack of information about the homeless, but the suggestions were there were increasing numbers.
There was also evidence that the number of illegal evictions from private rented accommodation was still increasing. "Existing legislation isn't adequate to protect these vulnerable people," he said.
Threshold's chairwoman, Ms Aideen Hayden, said 55,000 households were on the waiting lists for social housing. A total of 130,000 households were in the private rented section, many of whom should be in social housing.