Today’s record homeless numbers are a direct result of failed Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael policies, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne made his comments as a new record high for homelessness was confirmed this afternoon:
“Today’s figures show there were 15,747 people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of May. Shockingly, 4,844 of them are children. These record numbers are a shameful milestone for a government that continues to deprioritise homelessness.
“These numbers are the direct result of policy choices made by the government. This is what happens when you do not protect vulnerable renters, or prevent them from becoming homeless.
“Before today’s record, since 2016, 16,385 children have entered into homelessness in Dublin – this represents 75% of all child entrants into homelessness in Ireland, with approximately 22,000 people in emergency accommodation nationally.
“The state could be facing a national redress scheme for children who have been in emergency accommodation – the government knows the deeply damaging impact any length of time in homelessness has on young people, yet it is not doing everything it can to prevent children from becoming homeless.
“These abject failures are intolerable and inexcusable – rising levels of homelessness will continue to outpace any social and affordable housing delivery from the State unless there is a radical shift in government policy.
“Failing to take an interventionist approach in coordinating a national emergency response to homelessness across all local authorities, destroying the Tenant in Situ Scheme, and ending rent caps as we knew them have collectively pushed more and more people into homelessness.
“These numbers are real families and real children experiencing serious trauma day in and day out – their plight cannot be ignored any longer. The figures don’t even capture the true scale of homelessness – there are tens of thousands of people living in hidden homelessness.
“The government must reverse its proposed rental increase measures and maintain rent caps between tenancies, and extend the no fault evictions ban to all tenancies.”
27th June, 2025