General Election 2024

It is widely accepted that the next government’s housing targets will need to be adjusted to reflect a growing population as reported in Census 2022, as well as backlog of new homes that we have failed to build over the last decade. The Housing Commission, the Central Bank, ESRI have all recently published estimates on the number of new homes that need to be built but these estimates address these two challenges. Firstly, the Housing Commission estimates the housing deficit that exists because of a stalled building programme for over a decade following the fallout from the Global Financial Crisis 2007/8. The ESRI estimates do not take into consideration the housing deficit, but rather how much new housing is needed based on various population projections.  The ESRI and Housing Commission estimates are complimentary rather than contradictory with the former looking at the future and the latter looking at the past.

Going forward, our next government will need to factor in both the backlog of unbuilt homes and future population projections into new housing targets. As well as the 15,000 specifically social homes that need to be built every year, that is homes for households on the lowest incomes and most vulnerable, a substantial number of the additional 40,000 homes should be cost-rental and affordable. It is also crucial that missed targets are carried over to the next year and an annual review and updating of housing need and social housing targets takes place under the next government’s housing strategy.

The ending of the housing crisis will be a decade-long project and the longer we wait to build the right number of homes to match housing need, the longer we will have to contend with the economic, social and personal consequences of this failure. But we must not lose hope that we can solve many of the challenges we face in housing over the next five years. The right policies will achieve substantial improvements and can build the foundations for progress to both improvement the lives of many and crucially could end long-term homelessness over the lifetime of the next government.

While we need to ensure that a sufficient number of new social homes is being built every year, we also need to ensure that the right types of homes are being built in the right places if we are to reduce the number of people in long-term homelessness. We need to build smaller homes in urban areas.

Right now, the type of social housing currently provided and being built does not clearly reflect the needs of the most vulnerable households.  The Housing Commission Report highlights how in 2021, 12.5% of social homes provided contained one bedroom, 35% two bedrooms, 42% three bedrooms and the remainder four or more bedrooms. Most homeless households and households on social housing waiting lists are made up of one adult but there is a significant shortage of homes for smaller one- and two-person households. Moreover, larger 5+ person households are also ending up stuck in homelessness because almost no new 4 or more-bedroom homes are being built.

We also know that most homeless adults and homeless families live in urban areas, with 70% of homeless adults living in Dublin and half of all homeless families are in Dublin. Even though there has been a marked increase in the number of social homes being built every year, the predominantly large urban centres, especially Dublin, where social housing need has expanded most since 2011, has seen the weakest supply response and Dublin has not met its housing target any year under the current housing strategy. We need our next government not only to commit to building more social homes but also to addressing the spatial mismatch between need and supply, as well as setting specific targets and commitments around the types of homes being built going forward.

In Ireland, long-term homelessness is defined as “the occupation of emergency accommodation for longer than 6 months’’. The latest figures from the Department of Housing in September 2024 show that 14,760 people are currently homeless in Ireland. More people are spending longer periods in emergency accommodation, unable to exit due to a shrinking rental market and a lack of social housing to facilitate exits.

The deficit in social and affordable housing since the financial crisis has led to what the Housing Commission termed as the ‘’housing deficit’’. While the delivery of social housing has improved in recent years, this has had no discernible impact on the rising number of homeless households. Data shows that there has been no consistent increase in the number of households becoming newly homeless. Rather the rise in the numbers stuck in emergency accommodation is explained by a steady stream of newly homeless households and a declining rate of households finding their way out.

According to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Quarterly Report, as of June 2024, there were 4,791 households who had been homeless for over 6 months (3,473 single person households and 1,318 families). To ensure that social housing delivery is successful at tackling homelessness, the Government must allocate a proportion of social housing specifically for households that have been trapped in homelessness the longest.

By targeting resources at tackling long-term homelessness, we will move from a position where it is common for households to spend years in emergency accommodation to a situation where households are homeless for a short period of time before their needs are met. In Housing First, this is referred to as Functional Zero, a concept in which a population has the equivalent housing and supports available to meet the needs of the of people who become homeless at any given point in time.

To this end, ending long-term homelessness would mean that homelessness is confined to a temporary situation which is resolved quickly. Through efficiently targeting housing supports and resources at the most vulnerable groups trapped in emergency accommodation for long periods with often complex circumstances, we could end the phenomenon of long-term homelessness in Ireland by 2030.

Work together with the homeless sector to agree what other milestones can be achieved by the EU target of ‘working towards ending homelessness by 2030’ (known as ‘The Lisbon Declaration’) and provide a budget to achieve them.

On the 21^st of June 2021, various EU institutions across civil society alongside local and regional authorities came together to launch the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness and to sign a joint declaration to commit to working towards ending homelessness by 2030. By way of this declaration, member states are making a commitment to reducing and combatting homelessness by 2030.

The declaration acknowledges that homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of social exclusion, negatively affecting people’s physical and mental health, wellbeing, and quality of life, as well as their access to employment and access to other economic and social services.

Minister for Housing Daragh O’Brien received cabinet support to sign the Declaration. In signing the Declaration, Ireland agreed to:

• Promote the prevention of homelessness, access to permanent housing and the provision of enabling support services to the homeless;
• Welcome the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of these policy measures;
• Support our policy measures with adequate funding and, when appropriate, make use of EU funding as a lever to improve the way we address homelessness.
• Share our good practices in combatting homelessness.

To date, as we approach the half-way point in 2025, there have been no milestones or strategic initiatives set by the Irish Government to achieve the goal of working towards ending homelessness by 2030. To make meaningful progress under the Lisbon Declaration, Focus Ireland is calling on the Government to work collaboratively with the NGO sector to set a workplan with achievable milestones, supported by adequate funding to help achieve the 2030 goal. A social partnership approach could be employed to achieve the best solutions across relevant sectors in housing, social services and healthcare to work towards ending homelessness in Ireland.

It is crucial for the government to prioritise enhancing living conditions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness due to its profound impact on health, education, and social integration. Our research highlights that stable housing is foundational for improving overall well-being and reducing family stress.

Strategies to address family and youth homelessness include increasing the availability of emergency accommodation, expanding targeted support services, and implementing Family Hubs that provide integrated services for families (Focus on Families: Focus Ireland Magazine about Family Homelessness 2022. If you would like to read more, see our research on the supports needed for children experiencing homelessness or on the impact of homelessness on child nutrition. Legislation, such as the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, underscores the necessity of safeguarding vulnerable populations, particularly children, from the adverse effects of homelessness. Committing to these initiatives can foster resilience and a better quality of life for those affected.

We want legislation introduced to ensure that all local authorities are obliged to prioritise the best interest of the child. You can read more about it here.