THE NUMBER OF people in emergency accommodation in Ireland reached a record level yet again in November of last year. 

Figures show that at the end of that month there were 16,996 people living in emergency accommodation, including 5,321 children under 18 and 11,675 adults. 

That’s up from a total of 16,676 people in October 2025, including 5,274 children and 11,492 adults. 

The Dublin Simon Community said that these are the highest homeless figures “of all time”. 

The charity, which supports people in homelessness and provides accommodation, today said that it is “calling on those in power” to finally tackle the problem of homelessness and to “turn the crisis around”. 

Catherine Kenny, the charity’s CEO, said that going into 2026 “we cannot allow the situation to worsen for yet another year”. 

“It is incomprehensible that we have gotten to the point where this many people are trapped in emergency accommodation. We must put an end to record-breaking statistics and deliver workable solutions for the human beings whose lives have been upturned,” she added. 

The latest figures shows that of the nearly 17,000 people in emergency accommodation, over 12,000 are based in Dublin city. 

3,929 of those are children.

That means that there has been an 11% year-on-year increase in the number of people in the capital who are living in homeless accommodation, the Dublin Simon Community said. 

The charity said that the Government and local authorities need to prioritise immediate housing allocations, accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes, and introduce a “coordinated, cross-departmental framework” to tackle homelessness.