An Irish homeless charity said there's been a "colossal" increase in women homeless in Ireland.
Daisy House Housing Association who work to secure affordable, high quality supported accommodation for homeless women said women account for 42% of the total number of homeless adults in Ireland - well ahead of the European average of between 20% - 33%.
CEO of Daisy House, Ena Norris, said: "There were 10,397 people homeless in Ireland in September 2019.
"This includes 6,524 adults.
"However, these are not a true reflection of the actual figures as rough sleepers, women in domestic violence refuges and people in services such as Daisy House, who are not funded by the Department of Housing, are not counted in the official figures.
"There has been a colossal increase in the number of women who have become homeless over the last number of years here in Ireland.
"Women account for 42% of the total number of homeless adults (2,743).
"That is not keeping in line with the European norm of 20% - 30%."
The number of people in homelessness has since increased from 10,397 to 10,514 according to Government figures released this week.
Why are women becoming homeless?
Women fall into homelessness for various reasons, however, Norris and Daisy House has identified four common factors that residents often experience.
She said: "The tsunami of the family homeless crisis that began in 2014. Many people lost their accommodation due to the ever increasing rents all across Ireland."
"For years this issue was masked, as homeless women were hidden homeless - not accounted for as they stayed with friends or family, with no home of their own.
"But when the homeless situation in Ireland became overwhelming in 2014, many of these women found themselves visibly homeless as those with whom they had been residing also found themselves homeless.
"A third factor that contributes to the high numbers of women seeking support at Daisy House is the large number of women affected by domestic violence, who end up having to flee the family home in order to escape domestic violence."
She continued: "There is a major disconnect between domestic violence services and homeless services in Ireland.
"Another reason for the dramatically increasing statistics is poverty. Statistics from the OECD that show 29% of women in Ireland are in low paid jobs, compared to 19% of men.
"With the ever rising costs of rents in this country, those who exist in poverty will never truly be free of the risk of homelessness."
If you want to learn more about Daisy House you can check out their website here.
