THE number of homeless people that have died in County Limerick and other counties outside of Dublin is not recorded.
That’s according to Aontú Housing Spokeswoman Sarah Beasley, who hit out on the latest statistics for the Capital, released to her party, showing the number of homeless deaths since 2018.
The statistics were provided through a parliamentary question, showing that 236 homeless people have died in Dublin since 2018.
“Even more shocking is that these figures only show those who’ve died in Dublin. The number of homeless that have died in other counties is not recorded,” Ms Beasley commented.
“This is the dark result of a failed government housing policy. It’s staggering that over a decade into the housing crisis the only records we are breaking are negative, latest figures show a record-breaking number of homeless people,” she added.
According to Ms Beasley, the age where most fatalities occur is between 40 and 49 years old, as, at this age, the health and strength of the homeless person has been severely impacted after prolonged periods without a fixed home, as well as the impact of alcoholism or frequent drug.
“The findings as published by the Department of Health last week, produced by the Health Research Board, make for sad reading. Substance abuse and mental ill health were big factors here, but the report cites how the deaths were primarily the result of the social determinants of health, including inadequate accommodation, poverty, lack of employment, child and adult trauma, and imprisonment,” she said.
Mrs Beasley added: “Over the winter months, I run a homeless outreach outside the former Debenhams building on O’Connell Street in Limerick. It touches my heart to see the homeless men and woman call to us for food and recount how many of them don’t have a bed or a place to stay for the night.”
