Ms Louise Bayliss:

I thank the Chairman and committee for the opportunity to discuss the current homeless crisis and the impact on one-parent families.

The National One Parent Family Alliance is an alliance of nine member organisations that collaborate on issues for one-parent families. Our members include: Barnardos, Children’s Rights Alliance, the National Forum for Family Resource Centres, Focus Ireland, the National Women’s Council, One Family, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, SPARK and Treoir.

I represent Focus Ireland. I am joined by Ms Carly Bailey, policy officer with One Family and Ms Marcella Stakem, research and policy office, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Since the publication of the last report by this committee, the situation has deteriorated. Family homelessness has increased by 210% since April 2021. At that time, there were 925 families in emergency accommodation. The latest published figures in January 2024 shows that this has increased to 1,940 families. During the same period child, homelessness increased by 184% from 2,193 children in emergency accommodation in April 2021 to 4,027 in January 2024. We are also concerned about the impact on lone parents. At the last census, 17% of families are headed by a lone parent yet 56% of all families living in emergency accommodation are one-parent families, and the vast majority of those are headed by women. Since June of last year, and every month consistently, there have been over 1,000 lone parents and their children living in emergency accommodation every month.

All homelessness is fundamentally wrong but homelessness is particularly devastating for families and children. It causes trauma, contributes to malnutrition and carries lifelong adverse outcomes for children. Families who are homeless have different needs to single people. They need child care, child support workers, supports with schooling, child care nutrition and links to schools. Under international law, the State has obligations to protect the rights of the child, which should be reflected in the urgency to end child homelessness.

One-parent families have an even more difficult experience in emergency accommodation. They are often placed in accommodation away from their children’s schools and existing support structures. As there is only one adult to bring children to school, a parent who is working may not be able to remain in employment. Visitors are often not allowed in the accommodation so parents who work irregular hours cannot have a childminder and are again at risk of losing their job.

There is an overreliance on the private rental sector to exit homelessness, particularly for families who are on the housing list a short time. The documented contraction of supply in the private rental market, over the past number of years, is only beginning to recover meaning that exit pathways are challenging currently. This is more difficult for one-parent families. Many landlords require work references. When a lone parent loses their job because of the barriers they face in emergency accommodation, this has a knock-on effect of exposing them to the risk of remaining in such accommodation for a longer time. It is also difficult to attend property viewings with children, and so they are at further disadvantage of securing a property in the private rental sector. While the situation is bleak, it is not hopeless. We know that emergency measures during Covid had a positive outcome in reducing homelessness, particularly for families. There are solutions and we know that preventative measures are increasingly preventing families from becoming homeless.

NOPFA wants families in emergency accommodation to be better supported to reduce trauma and prevent intergenerational homelessness, and to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. Therefore, we call for four important actions. First, for the family homeless prevention subgroup to be reconvened as part of the National Homeless Action Committee and to develop a family homeless action plan. This plan must include targeted actions to prevent and address homeless among one-parent families. The plan should have additional oversight from the child and well-being programme office under its family homeless prevention strand, and have a significant focus on early intervention and prevention. Second, we call for all children in emergency accommodation to have access to a child support worker. Third, we want a legal obligation to be placed on local authorities to ensure the best interest of the child is prioritised when families present as homeless. Fourth, we want to ensure that the difficulties facing parents to access the national childcare scheme sponsorship places are reviewed as a matter of priority. This is essential for both the well-being of the child and to support lone parents to remain in employment.

My colleagues and I are happy to answer any questions members may have.