‘Crisis of a generation’ – Dundalk Simon highlights record homeless figures
Dundalk Simon Community has warned that Ireland’s homelessness crisis remains “deeply entrenched” as the first figures of 2026 show rising pressure on families and individuals across the northeast.
The Department of Housing’s latest report records 208 people in emergency accommodation across Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. The total includes 20 families, 43 children and 138 single adults, reflecting what the charity describes as sustained strain on housing, affordability and support services.
Louth County Council is the lead statutory authority responsible for managing homelessness services in the region, which includes counties Louth, Cavan, and Monaghan.
Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dundalk Simon Community, said: “Sadly, another social injustice milestone has been reached with record homeless figures,” she said.
“As numbers continue to grow, the Government must move with action to deliver solutions that will have the most impact. It is essential that at both a national and local level every effort is made to increase housing supply and ensure people can move out of emergency accommodation into secure homes.
“For the thousands counted by the system, and the many others outside official record, there needs to finally be a sustained response to what is truly the crisis of a generation.”
Kenny said the figures should be viewed in the context of an increasingly pressurised private rental market.
She added that measures outlined in the Government’s latest housing plan must be implemented without delay and that the planned review of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is “paramount” to improving affordability for those reliant on private rental accommodation.
Stronger prevention supports are also needed, she said, to stop people losing their homes in the first place.
“These thousands do not even begin to cover the entirety of the homelessness issue,” Kenny continued. “There are of course those without any place to shelter, those who spend their nights out on the streets. With near-record breaking rainfall and bitterly cold conditions being the norm of late, one can barely imagine what it must be like for the people who are forced to brave the elements. No one should have to endure these hardships, and more must be done to provide the suitable accommodation necessary to bring an end to rough sleeping.”
She urged the public and policymakers to remember that each statistic represents a person experiencing trauma and uncertainty.
“Ultimately, we must remember that behind each statistic is a human being,” she said. “Think of the person in the sodden sleeping bag battling unrelenting rain, the person left with no other option than to live out of their car, or someone who has just spent Christmas in emergency accommodation and is facing another year without a place to call home.
“We cannot accept these injustices any longer. The time for change has long since passed, but 2026 must be the turning point for this emergency.”