THERE ARE lies, damned lies, and statistics. When it comes to producing figures that put the best possible gloss on a worsening situation, governments are in a league of their own. Vulnerable groups that are least able to fight their corner find the seriousness of their circumstances minimised by official reports. It happened last week when the Department of the Environment produced a planning document on the needs of homeless people that only counted those individuals on local authority waiting lists.
Of course the department figures were technically correct. If you are homeless, under the 1988 Housing Act, you only become an official statistic when you formally seek accommodation from a local authority. But most people sleeping rough and many of the “hidden homeless” want nothing to do with officialdom. A survey conducted by the homeless agency Counted In found that nearly double the officially-registered number of households are availing of homeless services.
This dichotomy cannot be ignored. The full extent of homelessness must be addressed. The Department of the Environment should review the methodology used in preparing its housing needs assessment for future years. And the representations of advocacy organisations should be accorded full consideration. Rising unemployment and falling livings standards are having a measurable effect at the night shelters and emergency hostels of our major cities. Cork Simon Community has been turning away a growing number of applicants from its night shelter. In Dublin, some new facilities have been mothballed because the Health Service Executive could not provide funding to staff them. The financial pinch is being felt also by voluntary agencies because donations are failing to keep pace with their needs.
Homeless numbers will rise as people fail to make mortgage repayments. And pressure on local authorities to provide alternative accommodation will intensify. As things stand, more than 60,000 households are in receipt of rent supplements. Local authority rentals account for 40 per cent of the private market. These shifts in policy, as councils abandoned a traditional build-to-rent approach, have involved a huge subsidy for private landlords. And it appears set to continue. A new, long-term leasing scheme involving surplus housing has been proposed by the Government. If this goes ahead, value for money should be secured through regular rent reviews and by ensuring that all accommodation is not only of a high quality but is registered for tax purposes.