Homelessness in Ireland has once again reached a new all-time high, with 16,353 people now relying on emergency accommodation, reports Breaking News.
A Sinn Féin TD has warned that unless the government’s upcoming housing strategy brings about “radical” reforms, the “relentless” growth in monthly homelessness numbers is set to continue.
In July, the total number of homeless individuals surpassed the 16,000 mark for the first time, while the count of children in emergency housing exceeded 5,000, reports Breaking News.
Data released on Friday by the Department of Housing revealed that, in August, 11,208 adults and 5,145 children were living in emergency accommodation.
This reflects an increase in the number of homeless children from July to August, rising from 5,014 to 5,145.
These figures exclude people who are sleeping rough, staying temporarily with friends or family, or living in hospitals, asylum seeker accommodation, or domestic violence shelters, reports Breaking News.
The number of individuals using emergency accommodation has been climbing consistently for several years.
The figure first exceeded 10,000 in 2019 and again in February 2020, before dropping to around 8,000 in the middle of 2021.
An eviction moratorium was in place from November 2022 to the end of March 2023 in an effort to contain the growing homelessness crisis, reports Breaking News.
Catherine Kenny, CEO of the Dublin Simon Community, described the August numbers as another round of “record-shattering” figures.
“Tragically, we are at a stage where we have come to expect these increases,” she said, reports Breaking News.
“Things needed to change long ago, but it is not too late for those in power to take decisive action. Budget 2026 must include a clear, cross-departmental plan to tackle homelessness as a housing, health, and social emergency. This cannot be solved in one year — what we expect is the start of sustained investment over the coming years. We cannot expect different results if we continue acting the same way, with housing, health, and social departments working in silos,” reports Breaking News.
Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on housing, said the August figures reflected “significant” increases in both adult and child homelessness.
The Dublin Mid-West TD said that emergency steps, including an eviction ban, needed to be part of Housing Minister James Browne’s upcoming housing plan this autumn if there is to be any hope of “getting a grip” on the issue, reports Breaking News.
He said Mr Browne bore “direct” responsibility for the “ever-escalating” homelessness situation and the “relentless” month-on-month rise, reports Breaking News.
“James Browne is in office now almost a year, he is directly responsible for the increases in homelessness we see today, and unless there is radical changes in his revised housing plan, this crisis is going to continue,” reports Breaking News.
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