Dublin accounts for more than two-thirds of all homelessness in Ireland, a new report from Focus Ireland says.
The number of families in emergency accommodation in the capital has increased by 132 per cent since 2021 and 629 per cent since 2014, with 1,626 families recorded in June.
Over the past decade, €1.9 billion has been spent on homelessness in the county.
Focus Ireland said the report highlights the scale and persistence of the crisis in Dublin, with families and children experiencing the sharpest increases and local authority expenditure reaching unprecedented levels.
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Adult-only households in emergency accommodation in Dublin increased 61 per cent since 2021 and 306 per cent since 2014.
Child dependents in emergency accommodation have risen by 117 per cent since 2021 and 547 per cent since 2014, reaching 3,666 in June.
More than half of families were in emergency accommodation for more a year in the second quarter of this year, compared with 32 per cent in 2022. More than one in four families were there for more than two years.
The report also says exits from homelessness to private rental housing have collapsed, falling from 60 per cent of all Dublin exits in 2021 to 26 per cent this year.
Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland and co-author of the report, said while all forms of homelessness were growing, families and children are “bearing the brunt” of the housing crisis in Dublin.
“Behind every percentage increase are children growing up in emergency accommodation, often for extended periods,” he said.
“The fact that Dublin accounts for nearly 70 per cent of all homelessness in Ireland is stark and deeply troubling.”
Mr Allen said the State was spending “more than ever” on homelessness, both at national and local level, but that “the balance is wrong”.
“Emergency accommodation dominates the budget, while prevention and long-term housing solutions remain underfunded,” he added.
Focus Ireland said the report underscores the “urgent need” for stronger prevention measures, expanded social housing and sustained investment in tenancy supports to break the cycle of homelessness for families and children in Dublin.
The report is one of a series of nine publications, prepared with Trinity College Dublin, that look at trends in homelessness, using official Government data in each of the local authority regions across the country.
