Homeless population of Dublin nears 13,000 mark

Nearly 18,000 people were availing of homeless accommodation in Ireland in April, the highest figure since records began.

The all-time record high has been broken in four of the five months with reported data so far in 2026.

17,548 people were confirmed to be in homeless accommodation by the Department of Housing in the most recent round of figures.

The figure is an increase from the 17,517 people figure for March 2026.

The true number of people in homeless accommodation is likely to be above 20,000, as figures from the Department of Housing do not take “invisible homelessness” into account, such as couch surfing or people sleeping in cars. 

March 2026 was the first month in which controversial rent rules were implemented, with critics arguing the legislation erodes tenants’ rights and prevents tenants from attaining long-term security.

Of the figure, 5604 are children, up from 5,571 in the last round of figures.

12,475 people were confirmed to be homeless in Dublin, an increase from 12,465 in the previous rounds of figures.

When the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/independents government took office in January 2025, the nationwide figure stood at 15,286 people.

The figures mark a dramatic increase from May 2016, when the 32nd Dáil met for the first time, when 6,189 people were in homeless accommodation.

Record-high homelessness has resulted from record-high evictions, all of which can be traced back to “disastrous” government housing policies, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.

The Dublin North-West TD said, “we have learned there are lengthy waiting lists for emergency accommodation hubs in some local authority areas which are at capacity, unable to take in any more families. Those who cannot secure emergency accommodation are not counted in these figures.”

Per Hearne, 22,402 households have been issued notices to quit since the start of 2025, in anticipation of the rental rules being tightened.

“Only corporate landlords and vulture funds are benefiting from government housing policies, such as March 1st’s catastrophic rental changes, not ordinary people, who have been kicked out of their properties in their droves as a result,” he said.

Sinn Féin TD and housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said, “month after month, this crisis continues to deepen as a result of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s disastrous housing policies.”

“There are actions that the government must take now to reduce the number of people becoming homeless and to get people out of emergency accommodation more quickly,” he said.

Ó Broin and his party launched a 12-point emergency homeless plan, with the Dublin Mid-West TD saying Sinn Féin were going to step in where the government weren’t.

While former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar declared homelessness a “national emergency” in 2018, when figures were still around the 10,000 mark, Ó Broin said that Sinn Féin’s actions were actionable.

“On homeless prevention, our plan proposes to reverse the cuts and restrictions on second-hand acquisitions, including tenant-in-situ; the introduction of a ban on no-fault evictions and rent increases; and an extension of the Homeless HAP scheme statewide,” he explained.

“On exiting homelessness, we are proposing the doubling of housing first tenancies for single people and an emergency supply of age-friendly infill social housing to end homelessness for the over-55s in a single year.”

“And to address overall housing need, we are calling for increased investment in and reduced bureaucracy in the delivery of social and affordable housing; ensuring a greater delivery of one-bed and four-bed social housing; and a doubling of the allocations to those at risk of or experiencing homelessness,” he noted.