‘Frightful’ homeless figures reveal ‘families robbed of a sense of stability’, says Dundalk Simon

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Dundalk Simon Community has called on the government to “double its efforts” to tackle the number of people living in emergency accommodation across the region.

Latest figures from the Department of Housing reveal 277 people in emergency accommodation in the north-east region, equating to 39 families, 82 children and 138 single adults across counties Louth, Cavan and Monaghan.

With a new national housing plan set to be published this Autumn, the Simon Community highlight the number of people in emergency accommodation nationally has increased by almost 100% since the publication of its predecessor ‘Housing for All’.

Dundalk Simon Community called for innovative approaches to tackling homelessness in the new housing plan to prevent the figure from snowballing further.

Figures published at the end of August 2021, found that 8,132 people were living in emergency accommodation nationwide. Days later a new national housing plan was published, which contained measures designed to curb the rise in homelessness. Four years on, as the next housing plan is due to be announced, the homeless number today published has skyrocketed to 16,058.

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dundalk Simon Community said, "These landmark numbers are a travesty. Every single man, woman and child behind these frightful numbers has been robbed of a sense of stability of a place to call home. The numbers reflect the demand placed on Dundalk Simon emergency and frontline services. Our services are seeing increases in demand for support, particularly in the capital where 72% of homeless need prevails.”

She continued, “September 2025 must be remembered as the moment Ireland turned the tide on homelessness. With emergency accommodation already at breaking point, this new housing plan must be more than words on paper — it has to deliver real, lasting change. That means scaling up social and affordable housing, investing in prevention measures to keep people in their homes, and providing long-term pathways out of homelessness. This is our chance to make history and build a future where everyone has a safe place to call home.”

"It is clear that the last housing plan did not deliver real change for people experiencing homelessness. With so many more now facing these struggles, the soon-to-be published plan must address the issues that are leaving thousands of people without a place to call home. It is time for the Government to take this crisis seriously. It is not acceptable to continue to let the situation spiral out of control."

She added that Dundalk Simon Community are asking the government “to prioritise social and affordable housing supply, and increase supply until it reaches at least 20% of the national housing stock, with a minimum of 20% of allocations reserved for people experiencing long-term homelessness, sized appropriately to their needs.”

With Local Authorities and AHBs delivering 75% of homes for those exiting homelessness, the Simon Community highlighted the need for funding of both large development-focused AHBs and smaller, niche providers.

The need to review and update the guidelines for capital funding models for the provision of social housing by AHBs was also identified along with calls to “remove red tape slowing down the delivery of vital social housing.”