According to the latest figures released by the Department of Housing, over half of adults in Ireland’s emergency homeless accommodation in September were foreign nationals.
Last week the Department of Housing’s Monthly Homelessness Report was published pertaining to September 2025 – the latest figures on record.
This report revealed that a new record high of 16,614 individuals are in homeless emergency accommodation. Of these, 11,376 were adults, while 5,238 were children under the age of 18.
The report breaks down the adult individuals by nationality, and it is clear from the data that more than half of these originate from outside the State.
Of the 11,376 homeless adults in emergency homeless accommodation, 2,310 (20.3%) are from the EEA or the UK, while a further 3,379 (29.7%) are from outside the EEA.
This means that a total of 5,689 homeless adults in the emergency accommodation system are foreign nationals, compared to 5,687 who are Irish citizens.
A nationality breakdown for children is not available.
As Gript previously reported, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has said that more than 1,600 asylum seekers in Ireland were left without an offer of State accommodation between May and September.
In response to a Parliamentary Question, O’Callaghan confirmed that a total of 1,680 single male applicants were not provided accommodation upon their arrival in Ireland during that period in 2025.
Providing context for the situation, the Fianna Fáil Minister stated that “extensive challenges were posed to the State in sourcing international protection accommodation” amid what he described as an “unprecedented surge” in applications from 2022 to 2024.
Notably, in 2023, the High Court ruled that it was “unlawful” for the Irish State to permit an Afghan asylum seeker to become homeless after his arrival in Ireland.
The case centred on a young man from Afghanistan who landed in Ireland on February 7th of that year.
When he presented himself to the authorities, he was informed that no accommodation was available. He said he was handed a €28 Dunnes Stores voucher and a list of private charities, before being left to manage on his own.
During this period, he stated that he was forced to beg for money and sleep rough at various sites across Dublin city centre, constantly fearing for his safety.
He was eventually offered accommodation on February 28th, after spending three weeks homeless.
Supported by the Irish Refugee Council, the man brought proceedings against the Irish State, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman, the Attorney General, and the Child and Family Agency.
Delivering judgment, Justice Charles Meenan found that Minister O’Gorman had failed to meet his obligations under the European Union (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.