Almost 200 families in Dublin have been homeless for more than a year, new Dublin City Council figures reveal.
There were 549 families registered as homeless and accessing emergency accommodation, as of the end of October. Of these, 186 have been homeless for more than a year.
Shockingly, 80 families have been homeless for more than two years. Sinn Fein Councillor Daithi Doolan, who received the figures, said living in emergency accommodation "is deeply traumatic for everyone, but particularly for children".
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He said: "It was confirmed to me tonight that nearly 200 Dublin families have been homeless for one year or more. This includes 80 families who have been homeless for over two years. Linked to this figure is the fact that a further 784 single people have been homeless for over a year.
"This is deeply traumatic for everyone, but particularly for children. These figures do not include the several hundred families currently sofa surfing."
"These figures are truly shocking. It bears out the fact that the homeless crisis is deepening.
"Families are innocent victims of a perfect storm of a collapsing private rented market, spiralling rents and a Government that is sleep walking through the crisis."
Meanwhile, homelessness services could activate emergency weather plans later this week to protect rough sleepers from adverse conditions.
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