A shocking 15,000 people will spend Christmas Day homeless in Ireland, campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has claimed.
The latest official Government figures show more than 10,000 listed as being without a place to call home.
But Fr McVerry described those statistics as “nonsense” and “irrelevant”.
He said: “The official Department of Housing figures don’t include the rough sleepers, the couchsurfers and the 850 refugees living in Direct Provision, nor the women and children seeking refuge from domestic violence.”
Fr McVerry believes Christmas puts intolerable pressure on those without a home and added: “It makes homeless people realise their aloneness.” He went on to attack the failed Government policies which mean homelessness has been steadily rising for more than three years.
The priest revealed: “Ironically, the only time the figures go down, briefly and slightly, is in December.
“Landlords don’t evict in the run-up to Christmas because they can’t get new tenants. Watch the figures spike again in January.”
The veteran campaigner said the Government’s policies on homelessness are “in tatters”.
He said: “Imagine if there was a new foot-and-mouth crisis and the Government came up with a policy that wasn’t beating the disease after three years. They would be laughed out of it.
“They can’t admit their policy on homelessness is failing.
“There’s an election coming down the line. They have to keep up this facade.”
The latest Department of Housing figures show 10,275 people to be in emergency accommodation. That total is made up of 6,497 adults and 3,778 children.
In Dublin there were 4,300 adults and 221 families deemed homeless.
Fr McVerry claimed if the figures included all those without a proper roof over their head the total would be closer to 15,000.
For those working to help, and the homeless themselves, Christmas brings intolerable stress.
The priest added: “Parents who are homeless will be trying to get some money together to try and give their kids a present.
“Even if they go back to the family home for Christmas Day, they want to be able to bring something small with them. The stress and strain is enormous.”
Barnardo’s chief Suzanne Connolly told the Irish Mirror that Christmas brings extra challenges.
She said: “Parents go the extra mile to put on a brave face and make sure that Christmas will be one remembered fondly by their children. But for thousands of families Christmas brings the extra challenge of living in emergency accommodation.
“At Barnardo’s we try and help parents to manage the stress of living in such circumstances, including holding celebrations at each of our centres so children can have happy memories.
“Children need the consistency, safety and stability of their own home and in the absence of this it is imperative the Government continues to provide funding for supports that help parents to manage this stressful time.”
