Focus Ireland and Threshold appeal to the Government after latest total hits 17,527

Focus Ireland has accused the Government of contributing to the homelessness crisis, through an absence of urgency.

The charity said the Government needs to commit “to far more radical and urgent action”, as it revealed it supported a record number of people in 2025.

“It is deeply frustrating that the Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan has been postponed while more families continue to enter homelessness every month,” Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said.

“If the Government is serious about reversing these rising numbers, it must urgently progress the Action Plan, the National Prevention Framework and the review of the HAP [Housing Assistance Payment] scheme.

“These measures are essential to preventing homelessness, supporting families before they lose their homes and helping people move more quickly from emergency accommodation into secure and sustainable housing.”

According to the charity’s newly published annual report, it supported a record high of around 18,800 people who were homeless or at real risk of losing their homes in 2025, a 4.4pc increase on 2024.

The number of children accessing the charity increased by 6.3pc, to 4,787, while a total of 2,164 families engaged with Focus Ireland services during 2025.

Mr Dennigan said Ireland has seen a 106pc increase in homelessness in five years.

“Behind these figures are thousands of children and adults living with the uncertainty, disruption and trauma of homelessness,” he said.

“During the last five years, Ireland has been wealthier than we have ever been in our history, so failing to reduce homelessness over that period would rightly have been seen as a failure.

“It was not reduced. Instead, the lack of urgency and flawed policies of successive governments have allowed homelessness to more than double to the latest figure of 17,527 people.”

“Homelessness is a solvable problem, last year we solved it for two households every day. But we can’t do it alone.”

Meanwhile, fellow homelessness charity Threshold has called for greater collaboration across government and public services, and adequate resourcing for prevention measures.

The charity’s new conference paper, “Joining the Dots: Systems Thinking for Homelessness Prevention”, was published on Tuesday.

It examines how a systems-thinking approach can support earlier intervention.

This means recognising that homelessness is driven by multiple, interconnected factors and therefore requires co-ordinated action across public and community services.

It also emphasised “universal” and “upstream” prevention. “Universal” measures address the wider conditions that contribute to housing instability, including the security, affordability and availability of housing.

“Upstream’” measures identify people at greater risk of homelessness and provide appropriate support before they reach crisis point.

Ann-Marie O’Reilly, national advocacy manager at Threshold, said:“Too often, support only becomes available once a household is already facing the loss of their home. By that stage, the options available to people can be significantly reduced and the consequences can be far-reaching.

“Prevention means acting while there is still an opportunity to help someone keep their home. This requires us to recognise the warning signs of housing instability and ensure people can access meaningful support before their situation becomes a crisis.”