Homeless figures break 17,000 for first time in Irish history

Over 17,000 people were availing of homeless accommodation in Ireland in January, the highest figure since records began.

17,112 people were confirmed to be in homeless accommodation; the grim statistic was confirmed on Friday afternoon in a statement from the Department of Housing.

The figure is an increase from the 16,734 people figure for December 2025.

Of the figures, 12,198 people were homeless in Dublin.

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community, said “sadly, another social injustice milestone has been reached with record homeless figures.”

“As numbers continue to grow, the government must move with action to deliver solutions that will have the most impact.”

She said, “it is essential that at both a national and local level every effort is made to increase housing supply and ensure people can move out of emergency accommodation into secure homes. For the thousands counted by the system, and the many others outside of official record, there needs to finally be a sustained response to what is truly the crisis of a generation.” 

Kenny predicted that the government’s controversial changes to the rental market will cause figures to rise even higher in the future.

 “As new rental regulations come into effect, it is important to recognise how closely homelessness is tied to conditions in the private rental market. In Dublin, 1 in 4 households who become homeless come from the private rental market, citing notices of termination and affordability as the reasons.”

“Measures that the government has outlined in the new housing plan need to be implemented immediately and the review of HAP is paramount to improve access and affordability to those who rely on private rental accommodation as a housing option. Equally so, it is important to ensure prevention measures are in place for people at risk of losing their homes. Strong prevention — including security and affordability — is essential if we are to stem the flow into homelessness.” 

Social Democrats TD and housing spokesperson called the figures “dystopian,” saying “the government’s rental changes do nothing to protect the hundreds of thousands of renters who are in existing tenancies, who will still be subject to no-fault evictions – we will continue to see thousands of children in this country subjected to the trauma of homelessness, trauma that is utterly preventable.”

“It is only preventable, however, if the government has the compassion to put in place a ban on evictions, but it has shown that it has no interest in this necessary action – the coalition will implement emergency measures for investor funds, but it will not do so for the thousands of children and families who are homeless right now.”

The temporary introduction of no-fault evictions in late 2022 saw a pronounced drop in homeless figures, with the figure dipping below 12,000; the lifting of the ban in March 2023, in controversial circumstances, directly coincided with a rise in homeless figures since then.

When the 32nd Dáil sat in May 2016 to re-elect Enda Kenny as Taoiseach in the aftermath of the 2016 general election, the Central Statistics Office noted that 6906 people were in homeless accommodation on the night of the Census in April 2016, a rise of over 10,000 in under a decade.