Number of families entering emergency accommodation drops after change of housing policy
The number of families entering emergency accommodation in Dublin dropped last year.
The decline came following the decision to stop giving homeless families priority for housing, according to new figures.
Last May, Dublin City Council ended the policy of giving homeless families priority for housing ahead of applicants with a longer time on the social housing waiting list.
At the time the council's head of housing Brendan Kenny said the change of policy was to discourage prolonged stays in emergency accommodation in an attempt to secure permanent social housing.
The Irish Times reports that while the number of families in emergency accommodation in Dublin at the end of 2018 was slightly higher than 2017, the number of new family presentations to homeless services fell after the homeless priority policy was scrapped.
