Homelessness and the new Housing Plan: Encouraging Developments
Homelessness remains one of the most urgent and visible consequences of Ireland’s housing crisis. Families, children, young people and single adults continue to enter homelessness at record levels, with more than 16,000 people now in emergency accommodation. The new housing plan introduces welcome measures to address homelessness, many of which reflect our long-standing recommendations including a prevention framework, dedicated measures for families and families, and we hope these are converted into strong, sustained action.
The introduction of a National Homeless Prevention Framework is an important step. Strengthening early intervention and ensuring supports are in place for households at risk is essential. However, the strategy provides limited detail on how the framework will operate in practice, or how it will be embedded across key actors such as health, justice, child protection and social protection. A genuine prevention-first approach requires early-warning and intervention systems for tracking notices of eviction, rent arrears or income shocks to trigger rapid response supports. These elements must be set out clearly if prevention is to be effective.
The plan also allocates €100 million for local authorities to acquire homes for families in long-term emergency accommodation, which is welcome. This will offer permanent housing solutions for some families currently stuck in hotels and B&Bs. The commitment to create over 2,000 additional Housing First tenancies is also a positive development. Housing First is internationally recognised as the most effective intervention for people with complex needs. However, the scale of expansion remains too limited.
A dedicated Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan is particularly welcome, as Social Justice Ireland has long called for a more child- and family-centred approach. However, without strong prevention measures and a sufficient supply of social homes, families will continue to enter homelessness. The plan’s pledge to prioritise social housing allocations for families experiencing long-term homelessness could reduce time spent in emergency accommodation, but prioritisation alone cannot resolve bottlenecks in the absence of adequate social housing stock. At the same time, the continued reliance on the private rental market for social-housing solutions through HAP and RAS directs significant public funding into private rents while failing to provide long-term, secure homes or increase the overall housing stock.
Overall, these measures are welcome and align with many of Social Justice Ireland’s long-standing recommendations, particularly the emphasis on prevention and on responding to child and family homelessness. It is encouraging to see these priorities reflected in the strategy. However, their success ultimately depends on a substantial increase in the supply of social housing. Without significantly expanding the stock of secure, affordable homes, these commitments cannot achieve their full potential, and exit pathways from homelessness will remain blocked.
