Ombudsman 'exasperated' over repeated warnings on lifelong impact homelessness can have on children
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THE OMBUDSMAN FOR Children is expected to tell an Oireachtas committee this morning that the impact of homelessness and unstable living conditions on children is 'catastrophic'.
Dr Niall Muldoon and other members of the Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) will appear before the Oireachtas Housing Committee later this afternoon, alongside the Dublin Region Homelessness Executive and Westmeath County Council.
Muldoon will tell TDs and Senators that it is 'exasperating' to have to repeatedly warn of the serious impacts of homelessness on children amid the ongoing housing crisis.
He will say that the OCO has been raising many of the same issues that are impacting children's lives and preventing them from fully enjoying their lives over the last 20 years, with child homelessness having grown 'exponentially' in the last ten years.
'As Ombudsman for Children I have made recommendations, met with Ministers and officials, but still every month the number of children who are living in homeless accommodation continues to grow,' Muldoon will say.
'Housing has been identified by the Taoiseach as the 'number one issue' for the current government, and so it should be,' he will tell the committee.
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'The trouble is that the seriousness of the housing situation has been known for almost a decade now, and because of its longevity the effects have rippled across all of our society. Children however have borne the biggest brunt of the ongoing crisis and we cannot forget that.'
Muldoon will say that the move away from local authority housing during the economic crash in 2008 has led to a situation now where 'we are consistently failing more and more children and families who are falling into homelessness'.
He will highlight the 2019 No Place Like Home report, which featured children's views and experiences of homelessness and recommended that the Housing Act 1988 be amended to place a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure the best interests of the child is at the centre of decision-making when supporting homeless families.
The report also recommended that capital investment in, and output of social and affordable housing be 'significantly increased'.
'These recommendations were reflected in the 2019 report from Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, yet we have seen little or no progress,' Muldoon will say.
He will call for the Government to introduce 'bold brave measures' to address 'what is a crisis of epic proportions for children in Ireland'.
I know it is not a simple problem to solve but it must be done.
'Until children are considered in their own right, and their specific circumstances addressed, it will be difficult to make significant progress.'
According to the latest figures from the Department of Housing, 4,775 children were among a record 15,580 people living in emergency accommodation in the State in April.
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