THE VAST MAJORITY of public spending on homelessness continues to be directed toward emergency accommodation, with little investment in prevention and long-term solutions, according to a new report.

The Focus on Homelessness report, from Focus Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, analysts public expenditure on homelessness from 2009 through to projected spending for this year. 

It found that almost €361 million was spent on emergency accommodation last year alone, accounting for 86% of all homelessness-related expenditure and an increase of €74 million compared to the previous year.

Only 5% of total spending was spent on prevention measures such as tenancy sustainment and resettlement support last year. This is down 10% in 2013

Since 2014, the number of households in temporary and emergency accommodation has increased by 258%, rising from 2,419 to 8,669 by mid-2024.

The report states that over €1.84 billion has been spent on providing emergency accommodation since 2013, with an increasing share going to private, for-profit providers.

For every €1 funding for homeless charities last year, €3 went to private for-profit providers, with the report deeming this “a dramatic increase from almost equal funding in 2014″. 

The average annual cost of maintaining a household in emergency accommodation reached nearly €42,000 in 2024, rising to €45,000 per household in Dublin.

Mike Allen, advocacy director at Focus Ireland, said: “This report underscores a simple but urgent point – while emergency accommodation is necessary to prevent people from having to sleep rough, it does nothing to address the root causes of homelessness.

We need to rebalance our investment toward prevention and support services that offer lasting solutions.

Allen, who co-authored the report, said that continuing to pour money into temporary fixes without tackling underlying issues “is not only ineffective, but also unsustainable”.

“These figures raise serious questions about the Government’s decision to limit expenditure on tenant-in-situ purchases, one of its most successful homeless prevention schemes,” he added. 

‘Extraordinary increase’

Eoin O’Sullivan, from Trinity College Dublin, said that emergency accommodation services are provided by either by the NGO sector or by the private sector.

“The bulk of the expenditure and the growth of that expenditure has been on private sector providers,” he said.

“The private sector spent €11 million in 2013 and it’ll be €270 million in 2024, so an extraordinary increase there. There was a slight dip during the Covid period, but the expenditure on private sector providers accelerated pretty quickly from 2022 onwards.”

Allen also said that the rise in spending on private emergency accommodation reflects a “short-term, reactive approach”.

“We need long-term, proactive strategies like the Housing First model and increased social housing delivery to break the cycle of homelessness,” he added.

With reporting from Press Association