There are 40 tents at the latest encampment of homeless asylum seekers on paths at Leeson Street in Dublin. Photograph: Kitty Holland
Published by the Economic and Social Research Institute, it says “significant challenges and barriers” are faced by beneficiaries of international protection trying to find their own housing, resulting in “almost 6,000 people with status remaining in International Protection Accommodation Services accommodation as of January 2024″.
The include language difficulties; a lack of knowledge or information about the housing system; mental health issues “arising from their background and the international protection system”; and, “discrimination” in the housing market including from landlords and letting agents. Though several NGOs are funded to support the migrants in navigating the housing market these are inadequately resourced and overburdened, it says. The Depaul and Peter McVerry Trust charities “highlighted... the large number of people being supported by each caseworker”, the report notes. “As of January 2024, there were approximately 185 BIPs per caseworker.”
Meanwhile, the number of tents at the latest encampment of homeless asylum seekers in Dublin grew over the weekend to 40.