Record level of children and adults in emergency accommodation

The overall figure is up 310 on the previous month and up 18% year-on-year. Almost 2,000 families accessed emergency accommodation in February.

In the wake of the figures, homelessness charities urged the Government to make social housing a priority.

The Department of Housing data shows that 9,671 adults were accessing emergency accommodation managed by local authorities during the last full week of February.

The overwhelming majority of homeless people (10,100) are located in Dublin followed by the south-west region with 752 people.

Over half of those who were homeless last month are Irish citizens with the remainder almost evenly split between citizens from the EU and UK, and non-EU citizens.  

Focus Ireland called on incoming Taoiseach Simon Harris to make homelessness a political priority calling today's figures "distressing".

The charity is to write to Mr Harris to ask him to consider setting out several clear goals to help end the "human crisis of homelessness".

Those goals involve prioritising homelessness as a key agenda item, setting more realistic targets for home building, and ensuring a fairer share of social housing supply is allocated to homeless households.

Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan pointed to the Government's failure to meet social housing targets after the figures for 2023 were released on Thursday morning.

Although there has been a rise in the provision of social housing it has not met the demand due to the continuing rise in homelessness.

"Not enough of this housing is being used to provide homes for families and individuals who are homeless," said Mr Dennigan.

"Simon Harris could act on this issue, and it would have a significant impact as it would lift more men, women, and children out of homelessness and into a safe, secure home.

"With just less than 2,000 families in emergency accommodation the number of new homes required to end this crisis for families in long-term homelessness is not impossible to deliver and this should be a real priority."

Dublin Simon CEO Catherine Kenny said it is shocking that the number of homeless people in Dublin has surpassed the figure for the entire country just under two years ago.

"As the clocks move forward this weekend, spare a thought for those for whom time stands still," said Ms Kenny.

Behind the numbers are real people, real families, and real children worrying about where they will spend their nights. 

"Each statistic represents a life in turmoil, a family facing uncertainty, a child robbed of stability."

Ms Kenny also noted that today's figures do not include those who are sleeping rough, in domestic violence refuges, or those on the streets seeking asylum.

In its progress report, the Department of Housing said that 744 adults exited emergency accommodation during the final three months of 2023 while a further 1,490 were prevented from entering emergency accommodation in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Government is being urged to provide trauma support for children living in emergency accommodation.

Barnardos said there are growing numbers of children living in cramped, poor standard emergency accommodation with some struggling to walk or crawl due to a lack of space.

Concerns have also been raised about the negative impact on children's mental health due to stress, lack of space and privacy, and missing out on opportunities to socialise.

Many children who are homeless miss out on playing with friends as they are too ashamed to invite friends over to their emergency accommodation.

Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said every child deserves to have a place to play and have fun.

"It is creating a situation where there is a real sense of loss in their childhood which can never be made up for," she said.

According to the latest statistics for Dublin family homelessness, one in five families have been living in emergency accommodation for over two years, and nearly half had been there for more than 12 months.

This is a huge period of time for a child, a large portion of their childhoods, said Ms Connolly.