Tánaiste says homelessness ‘far too high’ as new record set

By Cillian Sherlock and Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

The number of people accessing emergency homeless accommodation has reached a record high, weeks after new rental rules came into effect.

The number of people using emergency accommodation rose to 17,517 in the last full week of March, an increase from 17,308 the previous month.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said “homelessness in Ireland is far too high” and added that child homelessness “is something that cannot be accepted”.

The total is made up of 11,946 adults and 5,571 children, both at record levels.

Harris said a specific action plan on child and family homelessness is to be published “very shortly”.

There has been a 46 per cent increase in the overall figure since the lifting of the ban on no-fault evictions three years ago, when it was at 11,988 (8,516/3,472) just before the pandemic-era measure was scrapped in April 2023.

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

The latest figures are the first snapshot of the pressure on homeless services after the Government’s rental reforms on six-year tenancies came into effect at the start of March.

The government has said the changes will provide greater security for renters and boost supply while the opposition has said it will dramatically increase rent costs by thousands a year and lead to increased homelessness through evictions.

Large landlords, defined as having four or more tenancies, are banned from carrying out no-fault evictions for tenancies beginning from March.

A small landlord can end tenancies through a no-fault eviction in limited circumstances, such as economic hardship or to move a family member in but, if they do that, they cannot reset the rent until the six-year window ends.