The Numbers Of Homeless Women In Ireland Rose By A Concerning 96% In The Last Two Years

Ireland's homelessness problem is still escalating, as shocking figures released by charity Focus Ireland state that the numbers of homeless women living in Ireland has increased by 96% in the last two years.

In January 2015 there were 1,017 women homeless but by January this year this grown to just under 1,997 - a worrying statistic.

Equally as concerning is that charity's figures that show the number of homeless children in the last two years has also more than doubled, from 865 to 2,407.

In fact, one child in Ireland became homeless every five hours in January.

96% increase in the number of women homeless in Ireland over the last two years. From 1,017 to 1,997 women homeless in Ireland. #IWD2017 pic.twitter.com/UyfibhFqJn
— Focus Ireland (@FocusIreland) March 8, 2017

Roughan MacNamara, advocacy manager for Focus Ireland, told the Irish Mirrorthat the main reason for the drastic increase of women and children becoming homeless is due to the amount of single parent families losing their homes.

“A lot of them are being put with their kids into one hotel room with no room to cook or for the kids to play. Some of these hotels are in the middle of nowhere so parents and kids can be completely cut off from family or professional support.”

The rise of homelessness for single women sleeping rough is also worrying, as they are at greater risk of violence and exploitation.