THE NUMBER OF people in emergency accommodation has surpassed 18,000 for the first time.

A record 18,065 people were accessing emergency accommodation in September, an increase of 180 on August’s figures.

The Department of Housing did not publish its monthly data last month due to the public sector pay dispute.

It said the department had not received returns from all nine regional lead authorities, which are responsible for submitting information on people accessing State-funded homeless emergency accommodation.

In a statement tonight, the department noted that the figures were due to be published on Friday 30 October but were delayed due to industrial action. 

A spokesperson said the figures were released tonight “in line with the Department’s commitment to publish the report as soon as possible”.

The figures show that 12,168 adults and 5,897 children were in emergency accommodation in September.

Of this, 2,821 were family households.

Homelessness levels first passed 17,000 at the start of 2026 and have now surpassed 18,000.

Ber Grogan, executive director of Simon Communities of Ireland, said that the “belated September figures are astoundingly depressing”.

“A further 180 people are now being forced to experience the trauma of emergency accommodation compared with last month, including 47 more children,” said Grogan.

She said the last two months “have seen staggering and unbelievable increases” and added that “this cannot become normalised”.

“People are trying to keep up with extortionate rent, electricity, heating, food and other basic expenses,” said Grogan.

“When so much of someone’s income goes towards keeping a roof over their head, one unexpected bill can have serious consequences.

“We need to do more to prevent people from experiencing the trauma homelessness.

“That means providing support before a tenancy is lost, and ensuring people can access affordable, secure housing.

“We cannot accept a situation where people are left to struggle until homelessness becomes their only option.”