Time spent by Cork families in emergency housing rises

The amount of time spent by families in emergency accommodation in Cork city has increased sharply over the past five years, with the most recent data showing that five families spent more than two years in emergency accommodation.

The information was supplied to Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins on foot of a request to Cork City Council seeking a report on the number of families and individuals in emergency accommodation, along with the duration of their stay.

The data showed that 43 families, including 95 children, had been in emergency accommodation for more than six months as of the halfway point of this year.

This compared to none in 2021.

The council’s acting director of housing, Nicky Carroll, said that over the last five years, 712 families with 1,358 children have been placed in emergency accommodation.

This included 110 families and 224 children in 2021, 127 families and 235 children in 2022, 147 families and 275 children in 2023, 179 families and 332 children in 2024, and 149 families and 292 children in 2025 so far.

The 2025 figures show an average of 15 families with 29 children a month, up slightly from the previous year. This is a two-thirds rise on the number of families in emergency accommodation in 2021, with a monthly average of nine families and 19 children.

As of December 2021, all families and children in emergency accommodation had been there for six months or less. The following year, there were five families who had been there for six to 12 months, three for 12 to 18 months, and one for 18 to 24 months.

In 2023, 17 families had been in emergency accommodation for six to 12 months; six for 12-18 months; one for 18-24 months, and two for over two years. In 2024, six families had been in emergency accommodation for 18-24 months, and three families for over two years.

As of the end of June 2025, 19 families and 49 children had been in emergency accommodation in Cork city for six months; 15 families and 27 children for 12-18 months, four families and five children for 18-24 months, and five families and 14 children for over two years.