Ireland has reached a devastating milestone with 15,747 people officially recognised as homeless in May, marking the highest figure ever recorded. The statistics, covering the week of May 19-25, represent an increase of 167 people from April’s count of 15,580.
Among those in emergency accommodation, 4,844 are children – a rise of 69 from the previous month. The figures exclude rough sleepers, refugees, asylum seekers, domestic violence shelter residents, and those experiencing “hidden homelessness” such as sleeping in cars or on couches.
Dublin bears the heaviest burden, with 7,734 adults and 3,589 children accessing emergency accommodation in the capital. Cork recorded 655 homeless adults, followed by Limerick with 505 and Galway with 236.
Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan declared the “government’s current approach to homelessness is failing,” demanding greater urgency in addressing what he called a “terrible human crisis.”
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin highlighted the scale of the crisis, noting a 450% increase in child homelessness since 2014. He attributed the surge to insufficient social and affordable housing delivery and government failures in prevention and swift rehousing.
The Social Democrats’ Rory Hearne described the milestone as “shameful,” warning the state could face a national redress scheme for children affected by emergency accommodation experiences.