The monthly Irish Homelessness Report exposes the increasing number of people forced to seek emergency accommodation in Ireland, writes Katie Power.
The Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage has recently released September’s homelessness report. The report showed an increase in figures, specifically around the number of children and families in emergency accommodation. This document showed that the current number of people experiencing homelessness has reached 16,614, including over 5,200 children. This is a record high number for Ireland, leaving adults and families vulnerable coming into the harsh winter months.
50% of the adults in emergency accommodation are of Irish Nationality, with 53% aged between 25 and 44. Of those, 60% are women and 40% are men. The total of child homelessness has seen a 14.8% increase since last September, and a 93 person increase since last month, bringing the total number to 5,238.
Ber Grogan, Executive Director of Simon Communities Ireland, stated in a press release, “Children should be thinking about dressing up and trick or treating, not where they’ll sleep tonight.”
Looking over previous years of housing reports, we can see that homelessness in Ireland has jumped from 8,200 unhoused individuals in 2020, to the current 16,614 in 2025, showing a 100% increase in 5 years.
“Make no mistake, this is a human crisis,” said Pat Dennigan of Focus Ireland, in a press release regarding the rising figures, “However, we must remember there is much good work being done to both prevent and end homelessness for every day.”
The government released the new national housing and homelessness plan on 13 November, outlining a housing scheme for the next five years. The minister for housing James Browne plans to ‘end the housing crisis’ in his term and aims to put the focus of the plan on amending child and family housing insecurity.
However, last month’s reports caused concern over the credibility of this plan amongst some, specifically Sinn Féin Housing Spokesman, Eoin Ó Broin, who says “We cannot simply come here month after month and see these numbers increase, so it’s now time for James Browne to put up or shut up.”