Cork Simon boss says homelessness has risen since tenant scheme closed

Paul Sheehan of Cork Simon has said that a reduction in homelessness preventions — like the end of the tenant-in-situ scheme —  is causing the rise in homelessness.

He added that it remains to be seen if new regulations will help to reverse the trend which is being seen in Cork city.

Figures provided to Sinn Féin councillor Michelle Gould at Monday’s Cork City Council meeting show that there were 35 families, including 75 children, in emergency accommodation at the end of 2021, but all had been there less than a year.

As of the end of June this year, 44 families including 89 children had been emergency accommodation for less than six months, 19 families with 49 children had been there for six months to a year, 15 families with 27 children for 12-18 months, 4 families with 5 children for 18-24 months and 5 families with 14 children in emergency accommodation for more than two years.

Paul Sheehan of Cork Simon told The Echo that they deal with more single people than families in their shelters. 

“But we have seen an increase in long-term homelessness across the region, it’s going up year-on-year.” 

He added that quarterly government reports on homelessness progress showed that in the first three months of 2025 “homelessness preventions have fallen off a cliff, and that’s what’s driving the increase”.

Preventative measures include the tenant-in-situ scheme, where local authority would buy properties when a private rental tenant was facing eviction due to their landlord wanting to sell.

In April of this year, Alison O’Rourke, director of housing at Cork City Council said that in 2024, tenant-in-situ accounted for 37.7% of homeless preventions in Cork city — including 37 single households and 51 families, comprising 87 adults and 100 children.

However, government funding that was inadequate to cover costs carried over from last year meant that no new properties could be acquired, though she noted that in the first quarter of 2025, 104 notices to quit were issued — a 47% increase on average per quarter.

Mr Sheehan said: “Some people would say Cork City Council were so successful with the tenant-in-situ scheme last year that the end of it has driven the high homelessness figures here now.

“We saw an increase in long-term homeless last year, the highest we have ever seen it, and the trend has continued for the first half this year, with record numbers in 2025.

“The exits from homelessness just aren’t there in adequate numbers, and there’s also huge pressure on households which is pushing more people into homelessness.” 

He added that it “remains to be seen how effective” changes to rules in the private rental sector and what the requirements for apartments will be.

 “And a balance needs to be struck so that they don’t impact people’s well-being," he said.

“There is a review underway of the Housing For All strategy, so we will wait to see what’s in that. But by all accounts the number of houses that will be delivered this year looks like it will stagnate as it did last year.”