“I don’t know who else to turn to. I don’t know who else to ask for help. I have tried other TDs and have got absolutely nowhere.
“I have tried the council, letting agencies, private landlords, and nothing. I don’t know what else to do. I am at my wits’ end,” a 23-year-old mother wrote to Minister for Housing James Browne in May.
Neither the woman nor her one-year-old son were included in the 15,747 homeless people recorded that month, as she was couch-surfing at the time.
Based in Dublin, she continued: “I am due a baby in August, and the amount of stress I am under is really not good for me. I need your help. I am begging you.”
Her plea for help to the Minister for Housing was included in a random sample of dozens released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.
[ More than 66% of homeless people in Ireland are in Dublin, report findsOpens in new window ]
Less than two weeks prior, a 34-year-old father of three wrote that he was in a “desperate situation, and reaching out to you is a last hope”.
“I do not have anywhere to stay right now. My kids come to me at weekends and I spend money trying to keep a B&B or relative’s place over their heads.
“I earn a salary of €60,000 per year. I have little to show. I have done all I can to make money and not give up, but I am now. There is no help,” he wrote.
The day before that, another father wrote that he was also in a “desperate situation”.
“After a full day’s work, I am again sleeping in my car tonight,” he said, having been evicted.
“My baby is currently staying with her mother at her grandparents’ house. This situation is unsustainable and deeply distressing. My child deserves a safe and stable home, I deserve better but I am struggling to provide even the most basic necessities,” he wrote.
In June, when the number of homeless reached 15,915, including 4,958 children, a man who was searching for a rental property for his family of three said they had recently viewed a property in Naas, Co Kildare.
He told the Minister the property was being rented out at €2,000 per month, saying it was not worth half that price, as it was in a “very poor condition”.
He applied for the home but was unsuccessful. It was randomly allocated due to the number of applicants.
“This is now becoming soul-destroying at this point,” he wrote.
In October, when the number of homeless people had risen to another record high of 16,766, including 5,274 children, a 63-year-old man told the Minister he and his wife had received a notice of termination.
The man, whose wife was experiencing “ongoing health issues”, said the “stress and uncertainty we face are becoming overwhelming”.
The couple had until November 17th to vacate the property, and by October, he had applied to over 40 rental listings on Daft.ie.
“I provided all requested documentation (landlord reference, payslips, and a letter from work) to the only two agencies that replied, but I have received no follow-up,” he wrote.
The 63-year-old said he had “worked and contributed throughout my life, and continue to work”, adding that he was not seeking a “free house” but an “urgent intervention”.
Three days later, a grandmother based in Westmeath wrote that she had until November 6th to leave her rented accommodation.
“There is a severe shortage of rental properties on the housing market, and those that are available are beyond my financial means, or the landlords do not accept Rent Supplement or HAP [Housing Assistance Payment],” she wrote.
Another grandmother wrote that her son, his wife and their young child “no longer have a home”.
“Despite his hard work, he is struggling to make ends meet. He has applied for both HAP and social housing, but was refused due to his income exceeding the threshold.”
The woman said her landlord has “kindly allowed” them to stay with her temporarily.
“It is heartbreaking to see my son and his family in this position, and I fear for the wellbeing of my grandchild.”