Almost 1,400 asylum seekers in Ireland left homeless this year

New report outlines country's struggle to house up to 100,000 arrivals in the past 12 months

A woman walks past a closed-down Debenhams department store where a homeless tent is seen in front of its doors in Dublin. Reuters

Almost 1,400 asylum seekers in Ireland have been left homeless this year due to a lack of state accommodation, a new report has found.

Some refugees arriving in Ireland have found themselves without a place to stay for up to 10 weeks, according to the Irish Refugee Council.

It comes as the country struggles to house up to 100,000 people in the past 12 months, many of whom have arrived following the war in Ukraine.

The report, titled Now I Live On The Road, is based on interviews with international protection applicants and testimonies from frontline service providers such as doctors and charity sector staff.

Ministers have emphasised the challenges associated with finding accommodation for so many people.

They have secured further bed spaces in recent weeks in a bid to reduce the number of international protection applicants without somewhere to stay.

At the height of the problem this year, 593 people seeking protection were experiencing homelessness, the council said.

It said 56 couples and seven single women have been forced to sleep rough.

The council expressed “deep concern” at the cases of four unaccompanied children who it said had been forced to sleep rough for as long as six weeks, after being assessed as ineligible for state childcare services, due to uncertainty over their age.

A homeless man by his tent talking to Garda as protesters demonstrate outside the International Protection Office in Dublin. PA

Of the four children, the council said, two have since been taken into care having had their ages confirmed. The other two have received evidence of their age and are awaiting reassessments.

The council said it also supported three pregnant women who experienced homelessness and dozens of people with serious physical and mental health conditions.

It said 450 refugees had contacted the council for support. Of those, almost 40 per cent self-reported a physical or mental health concern.

The council said the oldest person presented to it as rough sleeping was 62, while the youngest was 17.

Nick Henderson, chief executive of the IRC, said the findings show “destitution among those who have been forced into homelessness”.

“We are extremely concerned that safeguards have not been put in place to identify vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, pregnant women and people with serious mental and physical health concerns.”

The report says it is imperative that homelessness among people seeking protection ceases and does not reoccur.

It calls for measures to be taken to alleviate destitution if people remain homeless and makes short, medium, and long-term recommendations to address the accommodation crisis.