Horror as homeless woman found sleeping in TUMBLE DRYER at petrol station during housing crisis
A HOMELESS woman has been found sleeping in a tumble dryer at a petrol station, as Ireland's housing crisis continues
The problem in Ireland has reached "unimaginable proportions" according to Social Democrat Gary Gannon, who slammed the government's lack of action on the issue.
According to Streetlink Homeless Support, a woman was sleeping in an industrial-sized tumble dryer outside a garage on Dublin's northside.
Mr Gannon, 35, said that with more than 11,000 people currently homeless in the country, successive governments "have showed no stomach for the fight."
Speaking to , the Social Democrats Teachta Dála (an Irish MP) said: "It's devastating in terms of the imagery, the heartbreak, the pain of that choice that a person on the streets of Dublin have to make is just incomprehensible.
"It touches every human sense you have. I think my heart broke for the woman."
"Successive governments haven't got a handle on the homeless crisis at all and that's being witnessed in these truly tragic stories."
And despite astronomical numbers, Mr Gannon noted that the true number of homeless people may never be known, with many crashing on relatives' couches or sleeping on the floor of a friend's living room.
He added: "We have an absolute crisis of unimaginable proportions that are occurring in this city with regards to the absence of a home."
A total of 11,632 people are now recorded as homeless in Ireland according to government figures, a new record high.
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It is the sixth consecutive month that the number of people in emergency accommodation has reached a new peak, despite a temporary eviction ban being in place.
The official Department of Housing figures for December published show there were 8,190 adults and 3,442 children recorded as homeless.
The total figure for November was 11,542 people, a tally which excludes rough sleepers.
Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said the figures for December are particularly grim given there's normally a lull over Christmas.
He said: “It is profoundly upsetting to see homelessness continue to increase
“We usually see a trend in December where the number of people depending on emergency homeless accommodation falls as family and friends offer respite over the Christmas period.
“While this support was evident again last month, and we did see a fall in the number of families and children in homelessness, overall we saw an increase in December for the first time in six years.
“This is a further indication of the need for 2023 to be a year of delivery for those at the sharpest end of the ongoing housing crisis.”
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In October, the Cabinet signed off on an evictions ban, which means landlords cannot turf out any tenants over the winter months.
Introduced from November, the ban will remain in place until the end of March 2023.