‘Ever-escalating’ housing crisis continues as 16,353 people homeless in August

By Gráinne Ní Aodha and Cillian Sherlock, PA

Homelessness has reached another record high in Ireland as the number of people using emergency accommodation rose to 16,353.

A Sinn Féin TD said that unless the government’s new housing plan contains “radical” changes, the “relentless” rise in the monthly homeless figures would continue.

In July, the number of people recorded as homeless surpassed 16,000 for the first time, and the number of children in emergency accommodation rose above 5,000.

Figures for August, published on Friday by the Department of Housing, showed 11,208 adults and 5,145 children accessed emergency accommodation last month.

This represents a rise in the number of children recorded as homeless between July and August, from 5,014 to 5,145.

The statistics do not include people sleeping rough, couch-surfing or those in hospitals, asylum seeker centres or domestic violence shelters.

The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has been steadily increasing for years.

It surpassed 10,000 people for the first time in 2019 and again in February 2020, before falling to 8,000 in mid-2021.

An eviction ban was imposed from November 2022 until the end of March 2023 in an attempt to control rising homelessness numbers.

Chief executive of Dublin Simon Community, Catherine Kenny, said that the August homeless figures represented another set of “record-shattering” data.

“Tragically, we are at a stage where we have come to expect these increases,” she said.

“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.”

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the August homelessness figures showed “significant” increases in the number of adults and children in emergency accommodation.

The Dublin Mid-West TD said that emergency measures, such as an eviction ban, needed to be included in the Housing Minister James Browne’s new housing plan to be revealed this autumn to “get a grip” on the scale of the problem.

He said Mr Browne was “directly” responsible to the “ever-escalating” homeless crisis and the “relentless” rise in monthly homelessness.

“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.”