The publication of the latest homelessness figures today represents the worst possible start to 2026 for those at the sharp edge of the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.<\/p>\n
Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on housing, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother grim record has been set for homelessness under Fianna F\u00e1il\/Fine Gael. Today figures show that, at the end of November, there were 16,996 people living in emergency homeless accommodation. Shamefully, this meant 5,321 children opened their Christmas presents in a hotel room or substandard accommodation instead of in a secure, permanent home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government continues to refuse to accept responsibility for this crisis and instead tries to deflect from its own failures. In recent days, we have seen T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris outrageously attempt to conflate rising homelessness levels with immigration. Not only is this assertion wildly inaccurate, it also completely ignores the fact that evictions, unsustainable rents and a chronic shortage of affordable properties remain the main drivers of rising homelessness levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to scapegoat immigration for their own housing failures represents a new low for this government and will do nothing to help the record numbers of families and individuals facing into another year of homelessness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, the government continues to roll out the red carpet for investor funds in an ill-conceived bid to increase the country\u2019s housing stock \u2013 a deeply flawed policy that only results in the delivery of unaffordable rental homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s homelessness numbers are a stain on our society. The government needs to acknowledge that notices of termination are a major cause of this crisis. At a minimum, it must reinstate the ban on no-fault evictions and ramp-up State-led delivery of social and affordable homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
January 2, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The publication of the latest homelessness figures today represents the worst possible start to 2026 for those at the sharp edge of the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on housing, said: \u201cAnother grim record has been set for homelessness under Fianna F\u00e1il\/Fine Gael. Today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[663,10,7,510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homelessness","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release","category-rory-hearne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n