The homeless man who was discovered dead in Belfast city centre earlier this week has been identified as Norman McKeown. He was found in the Custom House Square area of the city on Wednesday.
Mr McKeown was named as new official estimates on homeless deaths in Northern Ireland were published for the first time, reports The Mirror.
Figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) indicate that 58 people are believed to have died while homeless in 2024, matching the figure recorded in 2023.
NISRA explained that the data was compiled based on where a person died and their current residence, rather than using the statutory definition from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The count does not include permanent tenants or homeowners, even if they may be considered homeless by the NIHE, reports The Mirror.
Belfast recorded the highest number of homeless deaths in 2024 with 20, while Derry City and Strabane had the highest rate at 11.4 per 100,000 people, compared with a national average of 4.11 per 100,000.
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In 2024, 74.1% of the estimated homeless deaths were male and 25.9% were female. Nearly half, 46.6%, were under the age of 45, in contrast to 11.0% of all registered deaths among those aged 15–74 being under 45, reports The Mirror.
A NISRA spokesperson said: “When looking at selected specific causes of deaths of people experiencing homelessness, drug-related causes were the most common, accounting for an estimated 27.6% of all homeless deaths in 2024 and 25.9% in 2023. For context, drug-related deaths accounted for 3% of all deaths in Northern Ireland in 2023, the most recent year for which this data has been published.
“These new estimates have been derived using a specific methodology and a definition of homelessness which seeks to identify individuals based on the circumstances at the time of their death rather than whether they were statutorily homeless or not.
“The identification of homeless people for the purpose of these statistics is not based on an existing definition of homelessness but is based on the ability to identify such individuals within the death registration records. The records identified are mainly those people using emergency accommodation such as homeless shelters, hostels, and temporary homeless accommodation at the time of their death. The estimates will include those who are sleeping rough, if this is explicitly stated in the death registration records.”
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