Homeless figures down to 14,864 as Focus Ireland urge new Housing Minister to build on this progress

New figures issued by the Department of Housing today show a very welcome drop in homelessness of 335 people for December 2024 to a new total of 14,864 people homeless. For the same month there are also 148 less children and 76 less families compared to November (4,510 children and 2,092 children).

However, Focus Ireland warned that there was often a temporary decline in homelessness in December and the figures need to be seen against a stark 12% increase in overall homelessness over the last year, with a 14% increase in children who are homeless.

Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan who welcomed the drop in figures also said new Minister James Browne must work to turn this one-off decline into a new momentum: “We are encouraged that the new Programme for Government includes a commitment to reducing and working towards ending homelessness by 2030. There is now an opportunity to develop detailed plans so this can be achieved. As a first step, new Minister James Brown and the local authorities must deliver on the Programme’s commitment to ensure that long-term homeless families benefit from the increased supply of social housing.”

He added: “At the same time, we also need a major investment in critical wraparound supports—mental health services, care work, and community development—so people can not only secure housing but stay housed. The ten-point plan set out just last month by all the leading organizations speaking with one voice should be a template for the homeless section of the new Housing For All plan that the Minister is preparing. We are committed to working with the Minister on a meaningful plan to tackle homelessness. The time to act is now.”

The charity noted that the positive news of a drop in December is a direct result of the hard work of local authorities, approved housing bodies and front-line services, including Focus Ireland and Focus Housing Association which have made their own significant contribution.

However, December’s positive news stands in stark contrast to the worst year on record for rising homelessness.

• A 12% rise in total number of people homeless from Dec 2023 to Dec 2024. 

• A 14% rise in number of children homeless from Dec 2023 to Dec 2024. 

• A 9% rise in number of families homeless from Dec 2023 to Dec 2024.

Considering this alarming increase Focus Ireland urged caution. Mr. Dennigan added “While we are all working to prevent and address homelessness, one month of positive figures does not erase over a year of relentless increases. Behind every statistic is a real person whose life has been thrown into crisis by losing their home. It is unacceptable that over 4,500 children in Ireland remain homeless today.”