Whether they wanted it or not, this Government’s fortunes are inextricably linked with housing.

A decade into the most recent Irish housing affordability and homelessness crisis, few adjectives or perojatives have not be used. We want to propose a new word for describing these events: apocalyptic.

Social theologian and Director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice Kevin Hargaden told Ruadhán Jones of The Irish Catholic that the “homelessness catastrophe, which has plateaued largely because of the eviction ban,will now almost certainly jump – unless there’s a mass intervention on rent arrears”.

Following a 10-day “grace period” after the blanket eviction ban ends today, April 23rd is the date when evictions can resume in the private rental sector.

We can see that the claims that landlords are fleeing the Irish housing market is false. There is no grand exodus. And the stable numbers of landlords have less debt and more revenue than they have had in the past.

To address the problem of homelessness, we obviously need to understand the causes and nature of it.  Unfortunately, there are some myths about homelessness, even amongst decision-makers, which prevents the problem from being resolved, says Peter McVerry SJ.

This blog post is the final of a three part series on policy-making as storytelling. In this week’s piece, Keith Adams considers how to make further sense of the stories around homelessness by looking at the sources of the housing which families enter into as they exit homelessness and how we can end homelessness.

In the second of our three-part series on Policy-making as Storytelling, Keith Adams continues to analyse the Quarterly Homeless Progress Reports to see who remains in emergency accommodation, and for how long? In next week’s final piece, we will look at how we can prevent homelessness.

This blog post is the first of a three part series by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice on policy-making as storytelling. Using the Quarterly Homeless Progress Reports, this series will consider the stories which are central to homeless policy in Ireland and if other stories exist. This post will focus on exits from homelessness with the second post next week reflecting on families prevented from entering homelessness. Duration of stay in emergency accommodation will be the focus of the third blog post and round off the series.

  In early 1998, Tony Blair, then UK Prime Minister, addressed the French National Assembly. In fluent French, he described the political ethos shaping New Labour and, more broadly, Third Way politics, as “an attempt to make realistic sense of the modern world. It is a world in which love of ideals is essential but… Read more »