LAST UPDATE | 27 Mar

THE NUMBER OF people in emergency accommodation increased by 196 last month, reaching a new record high of 17,308.

Of those, 5,457 were children, while the figures also show 2,609 families were accessing emergency accommodation.

The latest data from the Department of Housing shows that homelessness levels have continued to rise, after the total first passed 17,000 at the start of 2026.

The figures come after major changes to renting rules were introduced at the start of this month, which advocates fear will make it harder for some tenants to find accommodation due to rent hikes.

Social Democrats TD and housing spokesperson Rory Hearne descirbed the new rental measures as “disastrous”.

“Landlords are kicking out tenants as they’ve been incentivised by Government policy to do so in order to hike up rents, tenants who are not covered by the lease protections introduced, which only apply to new tenancies,” Hearne said.

“The cause of this crisis, which continues to spiral out of control, is Government failure to treat this situation with the urgency and gravity it demands and progress policy and legislation that will adequately address what has become a defining disaster for this generation,” he added.

Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin added that homeless services “are being overwhelmed”.

“We need an emergency ban on no fault evictions now and we need an emergency package of measures to both prevent homelessness and get people out of emergency accommodation more quickly,” Ó Broin said.

“There are solutions. This crisis can be tackled. The question is whether the Government has the political will to do what is needed.”

Homelessness charity Simon Communities warned that homelessness is “becoming normalised”.

“What we’re hearing from people with lived experience is harrowing,” Ber Grogan, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said.

One person told us they have sex with strangers in order to secure a place to sleep. A parent said they feel like a failure and once tried to take their own life. Someone else was removed from the housing list after four years for no apparent reason. It’s all so wrong.

“Everyone has the right to a safe and secure place to call home but unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening,” Grogan added.

“It’s important that we listen to people with lived experience. They’re the ones living in fear. They’re the ones with ideas, solutions and the knowledge of how systems and policies are failing.”

Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland, said that “with the right policies we can turn this around.”

He added that the Government needs to “ensure that the welcome increase in social housing supply is being used effectively to reduce homelessness, particularly for long -term homeless families.”

The Government committed in January 2025 to “work towards ending homelessness by 2030″ as part of their Programme for Government.

At that point, there were 15,286 people in emergency accommodation.