Photograph: Alan BetsonThe number of people entering homeless services after leaving direct provision has surged since the pandemic, according to a confidential paper circulated to senior ministers and officials. The paper, which the Local Government Management Agency drew up, shows that 16 per cent of all new presentations to emergency accommodation services are coming from settings including direct provision, prisons, psychiatric care, substance abuse treatment, hospitals or HSE childcare services. However, the growth has been less pronounced from these areas than from direct provision, an issue which homelessness campaigners say they have been warning of to no avail. He said solutions should be developed, such as charging those remaining in direct provision a rent if they had to stay for a longer period, or for local authorities to purchase some of the direct provision housing stock and convert it into homelessness accommodation. He said the problem of people leaving direct provision and ending up homeless was “entirely predictable”, as was their difficulty in sourcing housing.
