Budget 2026 Must Tackle Record Child Homelessness as Over 5,000 Children Left Without a Home

Focus Ireland today launched its pre-Budget 2026 submission. The submission calls on Government to take significant action in Budget 2026 and introduce measures that will make a real difference both to prevent people becoming homeless and to support those currently experiencing homelessness to find a home.

Focus Ireland had already submitted its budget proposals to all relevant Government Ministers and their departments in recent months. The public document issued today concisely outlines its recommendations to address homelessness more effectively.

Speaking today Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy Mike Allen said:

“Budget 2026 has to be a turning point for homelessness in Ireland. We simply cannot continue to travel in the same direction with consistent monthly increases in people entering homelessness, over 5,000 children living in emergency accommodation and many families living in homelessness for years.

“Budget 2026 should restore funding to the Tenant-in-Situ scheme which has prevented thousands of families and individuals from becoming homeless in the last two years. We have seen action from the Minister for Housing in recent weeks mandating local authorities to spend under the scheme into early 2026, but we need to see certainty of funding beyond that in Budget 2026.

“Budget 2026 should also provide funding of approximately €16m to fund 240 case managers to provide the ring-fenced households who are long-term homeless with active, intensive case management. This would be an impactful but short-term funding requirement as homelessness reduces, and in time, significant savings would be made as the cost of providing emergency accommodation is reduced which is estimated to cost the Exchequer nearly €500 million in 2025.

“We have just launched our No Child Without a Home Campaign, which sets out a five-point plan to end child homelessness in Ireland for good. We know that the Minister for Housing is committed to taking action on long term family homelessness and we are calling on the Government to make  Budget 2026 – in tandem with the new National Housing and Homelessness Plan which we expect to be published in the coming weeks – the key moment when we start to turn the tide on homelessness in Ireland.”

You can read Focus Ireland’s 2026 Pre Budget submission here. 

ENDS

Conor Culkin (he/him)

Communications Officer

0879361716