State spending more on homeless accommodation than prevention, says Hearne

Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne has accused the government of spending more on homeless emergency accommodation than on preventative measures.

The Irish Independent reported that the Irish state spends €180,000 per year for every family forced into emergency accommodation.

The latest statistics from the Department of Housing found that 2245 families are in emergency or homeless accomodation in Ireland; over a year, that figure would translate to €401 millon a year.

“With some families stuck there for two to three years, it would be more cost effective for the government to directly build new social homes, or provide increased funding to local authorities for the tenant-in-situ scheme,” Hearne said.

“Spending on emergency accommodation has increased significantly in recent years; in 2024, almost €361 million was spent on emergency accommodation.”

“Over five years, the funding going to emergency accommodation would build 1,200 permanent social homes – providing housing for all homeless families in two years.”

Hearne said it was “perverse” to cut fundings to services which prevent homelessness, such as the tenant in situ scheme or the ban on no-fault evicitons.

“However, some local authorities – including Dublin City Council – have had to pause new applications for the tenant-in-situ scheme for 2025 due to a lack of government funding. In the capital alone – where demand for housing is higher – this is putting more than 100 families at risk of imminent homelessness,” he noted.

“This goes against the commitment made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in 2023, when they lifted the eviction ban, that they would provide protections for renters by increasing investment in the tenant-in-situ scheme.”

“The government also recently stopped funding for some new builds of social housing via Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).”

The Social Democrats TD said “forcing families into homeless emergency accommodation is a social disaster, and the figures published today show that, from a financial perspective, this sticking plaster solution to the housing crisis also flies in the face of common sense.”