Simon Week began on Leeside

The public is being urged to engage with candidates about housing and homelessness in the run up to the next general election.

The call came on Monday on the first day of Simon Week 2024 which began in Cork.

During the event, noting that Ireland signed the June 2021 Lisbon Declaration, committing to working towards ending homelessness by 2030, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, Wayne Stanley, said: “We are putting all our efforts into this Simon Week to highlight the issues and the solutions needed to help meet our shared ambition of working to end the trauma of homelessness for thousands of men, women and children around the country.

“We are here in Cork at the start of Simon Week, with our colleagues from Cork Simon, marking the beginning of a week of seminars and campaigning around the country. Throughout the week, we will be looking at issues of supply of homes, hidden homelessness, youth homelessness and supporting people out of homelessness. The theme of vacancy is one that is live across the country but particularly here in Cork.”

Also speaking at Monday’s conference was Sophie Johnston, Research and Communications Co-Ordinator with Cork Simon, and Orla Hegarty, Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at UCD, who addressed the local impact of the vacancy issue. Their discussion explored potential policy solutions.

Ms Johnston said: “There are over 17,000 vacant homes across Cork, and one in every three has been vacant for at least seven years. That’s equal to nine long-term vacant homes to every adult in emergency accommodation in Cork.

“We need homes to tackle homelessness and this gives an indication of how vacant homes in Cork could potentially be brought back into use to help tackle homelessness and boost housing supply, before they progress to dereliction.”

Simon Week 2024 marks the Simon Communities of Ireland’s most ambitious campaign to date, bringing together experts, political leaders, and the public to discuss and drive action on the critical housing and homelessness challenges facing Ireland.

Lord Mayor of Cork Clle Dan Boyle and newly elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Billy Kelleher and Kathleen Funchion also joined the conversation to discuss potential actions the EU can take to help tackle vacancy and homelessness in Ireland.

MEP Kathleen Funchion said: “I have spoken about Ireland's abysmal housing crisis in several of my first contributions in the European Parliament. It will undoubtedly be the defining issue of the next general election here at home.”