Ireland

IRISH HOMELESS STREET LEAGUES

Irish Homeless Street Leagues use the power of sport to transform the lives of individuals from underprivileged, poorly educated, socially excluded, and conflicted communities. The participants are men & Women between the ages of 16 and 40 years. IHSL operate more than 10 leagues countrywide, with two in Dublin alone.

Among Team Ireland’s Patrons are President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, Colin Farrell, and Former Ireland International footballer Kevin Kilbane.

ORGANISATION DETAILS

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PARTICIPANTS

Men and women between 16-40 who are socially excluded.

LOCATIONS

Cities all over Ireland including Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Longford, Galway, Port Laoise and Wexford.

Country statistics

2 out of 189 in the Human Development Index rating (UNDP, 2019)

$65,620 Average annual salary per person (World Bank, 2021)

The number of homeless families has increased by 302% since January 2015 (Focus Ireland, 2020)

Ireland has a population of 5.22 million. Population distribution across Ireland is weighted to the eastern side of the island, with the largest concentration in and around Dublin, the capital. Populations in the west are small due to mountainous land, poorer soil, lack of good transportation routes, and fewer job opportunities. 63.9% of people live in urban areas, with Dublin having a population of 1.242 million (CIA Factbook, 2020).

Unemployment in Ireland is at 4.98% as of 2019, and youth unemployment between the ages of 15-24 is 15.3% (CIA Factbook, 2020).

As of November 2021, 9099 people were accessing emergency accommodation in Ireland (Homelessness in Ireland, 2021).

A report released by the Irish Homebuilders Association (IHBA) stated that the time required for a potential homeowner to save a down payment could take more than 15 years in some cities in Ireland. Dublin has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to pay rent. High rent combined with limited housing availability contribute to housing challenges. One of the root causes of homelessness is from the country’s inadequate supply of affordable housing (Borgen Project, 2020).

Focus Ireland determines the housing system being unfit to meet the needs of society as one of the major cause of homelessness, as well as rising rent costs. They state "there were 10,271 people homeless in the week of January 20 – 26 2020 across Ireland. This figure includes adults and children. The number of homeless families has increased by 302% since January 2015. More than one in three people in emergency accommodation is a child." (Focus Ireland, 2020).

In 2013 the Irish Government started a plan with the goal of ending homeless by 2016 (EJH, 2016). This goal was not achieved, in fact there was a two-year increase of 59% in people accessing homeless accommodation in 2018 (FEANTSA, 2018).