Spending on homeless services “spiralling out of control” says Ó’Broin

Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing Eoin Ó Broin has said that the government’s “failing” housing plan is resulting in homeless spending “spiralling out of control. “

The Dublin Mid-West TD’s comments were made as the latest data from the Department of Housing shows that in 2025 almost half a billion euro was spent on homeless services, up 65% since 2020.

Ó Broin noted that in 2020 that spend was €271 million.  Last year it jumped to €449 million, an increase of 65% in just five years.  This is a direct consequence of the dramatic year-on-year rise in the number of adults, children, families, singles and pensioners forced into emergency homeless accommodation.”

“More than 90% of the total homeless budget is spent on emergency accommodation, with far too little spent on homeless prevention or exiting people from emergency accommodation,” he said.

Furthermore, an analysis of this spend by Eoin O’Sullivan, Professor of Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin, has shown that last year private emergency accommodation providers received over €320m from the government.

Meanwhile, the not-for-profit voluntary sector received €100m to provide emergency accommodation.

“The government’s failing housing plan is resulting in ever greater numbers of people forced into homelessness and as a result spending on emergency accommodation is spiraling out of control.  Not enough is being spent on homeless prevention or on delivering more social and affordable homes to get people out of emergency accommodation,” Ó Broin said.

“The goverment has committed to ending long term homelessness by 2030.  This requires an emergency homeless action plan to reduce the number of people becoming homeless and getting people out of emergency accommodation more quickly.  In May of this year Sinn Féin launched a 12-point plan to end long term homelessness by 2030.  Unfortunately, the government is not listening, and as a consequence more and more people are becoming homeless, which in turn carries an ever-increasing human and financial cost,” the Sinn Féin TD stated.