Social Affairs

Family homelessness has risen almost six-fold since 2014, Focus Ireland says

The report brings together all the official data measured by the Department of Housing on homelessness over the past ten years, for the first time

In 2023 alone, 6,462 adults entered emergency accommodation for the first time. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images

Jade Wilson
Fri Jun 14 2024 - 11:00

Family homelessness has risen almost six-fold since 2014, with families now comprising almost a quarter of all households in emergency accommodation, according to a new report from Focus Ireland.

The report, released on Friday, brings together all the official data measured by the Department of Housing on homelessness over the past ten years, for the first time.

It showed that since August 2021, the number of families and children in emergency accommodation has doubled, with one-parent families comprising 13 per cent, and couples with children making up 10.5 per cent.

The number of adult-only homeless households has also tripled in the decade since 2014, and 2023 was the year with the highest number of new adults entering emergency accommodation in the last decade, the data shows.

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In 2023 alone, 6,462 adults entered emergency accommodation for the first time.

While there have been variations over the 10-year period, men comprise around three-quarters of those in adult-only homeless households over the decade.

As for adults with children, in July 2014 there were 344 families in emergency accommodation nationally, rising to a record of 2,000 by November 2023 – a 480 per cent increase.

[ An estimated 25,000 people in Northern Ireland experiencing hidden homelessness ]

The data demonstrates that homelessness is a dynamic process with a large number of people moving in and out of homelessness over the last decade, the report says.

A total of 55,367 adults became homeless and entered emergency accommodation over the last decade. Just over half (28,710) of these adults were in Dublin.

There was a higher proportion of adult homelessness in Dublin, at around 70 per cent of homeless adults in emergency accommodation at any time.

However, this did not result from more people entering homelessness in Dublin, but from people remaining in emergency accommodation longer, the report said.

On average, people are now remaining homeless for longer than they did in 2014.

Since then, the number of adults in emergency accommodation for longer than six months has increased by 579 per cent, with the majority (75 per cent) in Dublin.

“For us, one of the most important lessons is the way [the data] demonstrates that homelessness is not a static problem but a dynamic one,” director of Focus Ireland Mike Allen said.

“As the numbers go up each month, it is often presented as ‘all the same people are still homeless and some more joined them’ but in fact, while some people do get stuck, mostly there is a flow into and out of homelessness, with a lot of people experiencing it,” he said.

In total, €2.2 billion has been spent by Local Authorities on services for households experiencing homelessness between 2014 and 2023

The higher rate of homelessness in Dublin “is not explained as it usually is assumed by more people becoming homeless in the capital,” rather, the problem is that “people who become homeless in Dublin remain homeless for longer,” Allen said.

Homelessness has also increased not only in total numbers, but as a percentage of the total adult population, the data revealed. The homeless rate per 1,000 population aged over 18 increased from 0.71 in 2014 to 2.14 in 2023.

The report also showed that the provision of emergency accommodation is increasingly being provided by private, for-profit entities.

In total, €2.2 billion has been spent by Local Authorities on services for households experiencing homelessness between 2014 and 2023.

Nearly 30,000 adults exited emergency accommodation to a tenancy in the decade between 2014 and 2023, such as to a local authority or approved housing body tenancy or a private rented tenancy with housing support payments, the report showed.

Jade Wilson

Jade Wilson

Jade Wilson is a reporter for The Irish Times

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