There are now 13,866 men, women and children recorded as homeless in Ireland as of March – an increase of 25 on the previous month.
According to homeless charity the Simon Communities, 1,981 were families (an increase of 21%, or 342 in the year) and 4,147 were children (an increase of 19%, 675 in the year).
Commenting on the data, Simon Communities Executive Director Wayne Stanley said the figures were “shocking”.
“The figures released by the Department today reveals a 16% year-on-year increase of men, women and children living in homelessness,” he said.
“While we welcome the fact that some regions have shown a small decline this month, we must reflect on the fact that it is almost 10 years since these figures began to be published and homelessness was declared a crisis.
“At the end of 2014, the Department reported 3,738 people in homelessness. Today’s figures show an increase of 10,128 men, women and children in homelessness since then. That is a shocking figure.”
Stanley went on to say that there had been “some” success over the past decade when it came to homelessness.
“In particular, during the period of COVID, we saw a significant decline in family homelessness,” he said.
“This success in reducing the number of people in emergency accommodation didn’t happen by accident. It was driven by preventing families and individuals from having to enter homelessness, while capturing increased housing supply, to ensure individuals and families could move out of homelessness.
“In a recent interview, the Minister for Housing indicated that he is working to increase allocations to those in homelessness. We have once again called on the Minister to implement the provisions of the Simon Homeless Prevention Bill to help slow the number of individuals and families entering homelessness.
“These initiatives, if effectively implemented, could finally get us ahead of this crisis and we may eventually witness a decline in these alarming numbers.”
Reacting to the figures, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said: “Those without a home remain the priority for this Government.
“This year in 2024 we are making €242 million available for the delivery of homeless services – a 12.6% increase on the previous year.
“While we continue to fund much needed services, we are also ramping up the supply of social homes and ensuring the Tenant in Situ Scheme is continued.
“This means that we can provide safe, secure social homes for life.”