The facility at Usher’s Island houses people who are homeless who have addictions and other healthcare needs
Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association
12:21, 07 Aug 2026
Taoiseach Micheal Martin (centre), Minister for Housing James Browne (right) and Minister of State Jennifer Murnane O’Connor (left) attend the launch of a “gamechanger” homeless facility at Usher’s Island in Dublin City.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been called upon to provide full funding for a homeless centre in Dublin by granting it an additional €3 million in the forthcoming budget.
The facility at Usher’s Island accommodates homeless individuals with addictions and other healthcare requirements. Dublin Simon Community, which operates the facility at Usher’s Island, has maintained that at maximum capacity it can “save up to 36,500 inpatient bed days each year” through fewer hospital admissions and improved health outcomes.
The facility provides services including detox, step-up and step-down intermediate care, and stabilisation treatment. The centre has funding to run 75 beds, enabling them to support more than 1,000 people annually, but it has capacity for 100 beds that would enable them to assist up to 1,600 people per year, reports the Irish Mirror.
The project cost €38 million to establish, and costs €10.5 million annually to deliver 75 beds at the facility. An additional 25 beds would cost €3m. During a visit to the facility in February, Mr Martin said “it takes time” to fully open a healthcare facility and stated that a year and a half was “not an eternity” – as it first began admitting people in October 2024.
He said he would be “seeking to do something significant” with the facility in Budget 2027. The HSE is conducting a review of the service and its facility in 2026, expected to be finished this year, which will contribute to a business case for expanding the Usher’s Island facility.
Dublin Simon Community chief executive Catherine Kenny wrote to the Taoiseach on July 22 to request “full operational funding” for the Health and Addiction Care Facility (HACF) at Usher’s Island in Budget 2027. She described it as “essential” that the review shapes the implementation of the service “rather than delay the funding required to fully realise the Government’s original ambition”.
“The need for the facility has never been clearer. People experiencing long-term homelessness often present with a combination of severe physical illness, addiction and mental ill-health that cannot be effectively addressed within standard emergency accommodation.”
The correspondence warned that without its integrated healthcare and addiction treatment, individuals would become “trapped in repeated cycles” of hospital admission, detoxification, relapse and homelessness. This places “significant pressure” on hospitals, emergency departments, and ambulance services, the letter cautioned.
“Even while operating below capacity, the facility is already demonstrating its value. At full capacity, the facility is expected to deliver more than 1,200 treatment episodes annually and has the potential to save up to 36,500 inpatient bed days each year through reduced hospital admissions and improved health outcomes.
“We therefore respectfully ask that, once the HSE review concludes later this year, your Department advocates strongly during the Budget 2027 process for the provision of the full annual operational funding required to bring all 100 beds into service.
“This would ensure that the Health and Addiction Care Facility can fulfil its intended role as a flagship national service, improving health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness while reducing avoidable demand on the wider health system.”
The Department of the Taoiseach has been approached for comment.
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