Gavan Reilly: Homelessness is up again. Maybe we need a tsar…

Homelessness is up again. Maybe we need a tsar…

I remember the distinct feeling, back in February 2019, that the government was going to come under incredible pressure about its performance on housing when the number of people living in emergency accommodation reached 10,000. I wasn’t alone: plenty thought that the temporary reduction in numbers around Christmas (where some homeless people often move in, for a few days, with relatives who can’t keep them permanently) was a useful reprieve for under-fire ministers.

Strange then that the next great milestone - the official count of homeless people reaching 15,000 - hasn’t caused much more societal debate or discussion in the last few days. That’s especially unusual when the same monthly figures mark the first time that the number of children in emergency accommodation surpasses 5,000 for the first time: a double-whammy of what ought to be a greater public talking point.

I was reminded over the weekend that it’s now almost five months since the minister for housing James Browne - who, in fairness, did not create this problem - declared that the actions of the following four to seven months would set the course for fixing the problem.

Objectively it’s hard to see what has happened in those months: other than floating the idea of relaxing planning permission on ‘shedsits’ - which is still out for public consultation - the only tangible measure has been a small change to laws so that judicial reviews to planning permissions don’t force those decisions to lapse.

Here’s an interesting weathervane for whether the government is doing much: remember all the grief the government took back in April and May, when it wanted NAMA’s Brendan McDonagh to take over a new ‘Housing Activation Office’? Many in government said that office would be crucial to breaking down silos and getting housing delivery moving.

It’s four months since McDonagh withdrew his interest, and there isn’t even a whiff of a suggestion about someone else to take this ‘vital’ job.