{"id":224586,"date":"2026-01-03T03:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T03:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224586\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T03:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T03:56:16","slug":"irelands-homeless-crisis-worsens-with-record-5321-kids-in-emergency-accommodation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224586\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland’s homeless crisis worsens with record 5,321 kids in emergency accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"

A record 16,996 people, including over 5,300 children, accessed emergency homeless accommodation in Ireland in November, marking the 11th consecutive month of rising numbers ahead of a weekend cold snap.\"StockStock image of temporary accommodation(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

There was a record number of people accessing emergency homeless accommodation at the end of November, with the latest figures published ahead of a weekend cold snap.<\/p>\n

The number of people using emergency accommodation rose to 16,996 in November, an increase from 16,755 the previous month. The total is made up of 11,675 adults and 5,321 children, both at record levels.<\/p>\n

The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has been increasing steadily for years and the monthly figures published by the Department of Housing do not account for people sleeping rough, or those staying in hospitals, asylum centres or domestic violence shelters.<\/p>\n

The November data marks the 11th month in a row that the figures have reached new highs, with historical patterns normally showing a slight dip in December.<\/p>\n

The latest sense of pressures on homeless services comes ahead of a weekend where Ireland will be facing weather warnings for snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures.<\/p>\n

Focus Ireland said the latest record shows the Government\u2019s new housing plan \u201cmust start to deliver in 2026\u2033.<\/p>\n

Focus Ireland\u2019s head of media communications, Roughan Mac Namara, described the situation as \u201cheartbreaking\u201d, highlighting that 5,321 children have started the new year as homeless – many for the second or third time in emergency accommodation.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cChildren who are homeless are having their childhoods stolen one day at a time. This is wrong and we can – and must – end this human crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Mac Namara added: \u201cWe need to see urgent action such as steps to fast-track delivery of more one- and four-bedroom homes to speed up exits from homelessness for families and individuals, alongside prioritising new social housing for those most in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A record 16,996 people, including over 5,300 children, accessed emergency homeless accommodation in Ireland in November, marking the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3663,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-224586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-homeless-crisis","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}