Concern at record high number of children who will be homeless this Christmas

Concerns have been raised about the record number of children who will be in emergency accommodation this Christmas as the latest homelessness figures show new record highs have been reached.

The number of people using emergency accommodation rose to 16,755 in October, an increase from 16,614 the previous month.

Figures published on Friday show 11,492 adults accessed emergency accommodation in October, with the number of children recorded as homeless rising from 5,238 to 5,274 between September and October.

The number of children experiencing homelessness surpassed 5,000 in July and has increased each month since – increasing by 13.5% since the general election.

The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has been increasing steadily for years and the monthly figures published by the Department of Housing are a fraction of the total, as they do not include people sleeping rough, or those staying in hospitals, asylum centres or domestic violence shelters.

Reacting to the latest figures, the Dublin Simon Community said that the homelessness crisis “continues to deepen”.

The chief executive of Dublin Simon Community, Catherine Kenny, said that “more people than ever before are facing the festive season without a place to call home”.

“We are finishing the year almost exactly as we began with homelessness rising, with emergency accommodation stretched to its limits and with people forced to sleep in the cold,” she said.

“2025 has been another year of missed opportunities. The government has set out ambitions for social and affordable housing, and Budget 2026 brought welcome funding for homelessness.

“But unless these commitments are delivered quickly, at scale and in a joined-up way – across housing, health, mental health, addiction and community supports – the overall numbers will not fall.”

Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said: “It is heartbreaking that a record number of 5,274 children will be homeless this Christmas. For many it will be their second or even third year opening their presents in emergency accommodation.

“Children who are homeless are having their childhoods stolen one day at a time. This is wrong and we can, and must, end this human crisis.”

He said the government’s new housing plan – Delivering Homes, Building Communities – needed specific deadlines to track progress and that removing annual targets “reduces transparency”.

“Urgency, robust targets, and timely delivery are crucial to ensure families and individuals experiencing homelessness have secure housing.”

Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin said the new figures represented “the highest level of adult and child homelessness in modern history”.

He said it came in a week where the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) showed an increase in eviction notices, largely due to landlords selling their properties, which he said would ensure that homelessness would continue to increase.

He called on the Housing Minister James Browne to introduce a six-month emergency ban on evictions.

“Unless James Browne, (Taoiseach) Micheal Martin and (Tanaiste) Simon Harris want to see the highest levels of homelessness come Christmas Day, they need to move quickly to introduce an emergency ban on evictions.”

Labour TD Conor Sheehan said that he was “really annoyed” at yet another increase in homeless figures.

He said since taking office, the Government has “shrank” apartment sizes, introduced tax cuts for property developers and “ripped up” rent pressure zones.

He said that he expected the Department of Housing’s official figures to reach 20,000 next year and said the increase in notices to quit issued now would “put an absolute rocket” under the homeless figures this time next year.

He said he was also “very concerned” by attempts by some ministers to conflate the increase in homelessness with rising migration into Ireland and argued that homelessness has been growing for the past decade.

He said he expected the next state redress scheme to be for children who were in long-term homelessness.

“You have children, for example, their physical development is being stunted in many cases because they’re literally being reared in a hotel room which is probably the size of two car parking spaces, so they can’t even move about freely.”

Social Democrat TD Rory Hearne said that a year ago, on the day of the general election, there were 14,996 people in emergency accommodation.

He said since then, there has been a 13.5% increase in the number of children in homelessness.

“The legacy of this Government is that more people are now without a home than when it first took office.

“A short time before election day, Micheal Martin told Virgin Media News that he hoped the numbers of people in homelessness would come down over the next 12 months. His government has ensured that the exact opposite has happened.”

He added: “No child should grow up without a home, and this should not be a radical statement. Yet, this Christmas, more children than ever will find themselves in emergency accommodation.”