Confirmation today that there are now more than 5,000 children living in homeless emergency accommodation is a national scandal and a dark day for Ireland, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.<\/p>\n
Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s figures show there were 16,058\u00a0people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of July. For the first time, the number of children living under such dire circumstances has exceeded the 5,000 mark and now stands at 5,014.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis latest grim milestone reached under another Fianna F\u00e1il\/Fine Gael-led government should shame us a society. We are talking about people, not just numbers \u2013 behind these bleak statistics lie harrowing stories of human hardship and suffering.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust this week, the latest \u2018Homelessness Briefing\u2019 published by Barnardos revealed the shocking experiences of vulnerable families living in emergency accommodation. The charity found that almost one in five children they support (18 per cent) live in unsuitable accommodation, which is often overcrowded, dirty, cold or unsafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving to live in substandard accommodation is affecting the wellbeing and futures of these children. The real tragedy is that child homelessness is not inevitable \u2013 it is the direct result of policy choices made by the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what happens when you do not protect vulnerable tenant or prevent them from becoming homeless. If the government really cared, rent freezes would be in place and the eviction ban would have been reinstated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows that behind all the government\u2019s spin, there is a complete and utter disregard for the human misery and trauma their policies cause every single day for these families, children and individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
August 29, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Confirmation today that there are now more than 5,000 children living in homeless emergency accommodation is a national scandal and a dark day for Ireland, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said: \u201cToday\u2019s figures show there were 16,058\u00a0people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[540,663,10,7,510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children","category-homelessness","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release","category-rory-hearne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n