Our history

Sr Stanislaus Kennedy founded Focus Ireland following her research into the needs of women experiencing homelessness in Dublin in the 1980s.

Through her research, Sr Stan realised the importance of involving people who are homeless, or have been directly affected by homelessness, in the development of homelessness services.

In 1985, two years after the initial research Focus Point (now Focus Ireland) opened its doors on Eustace Street in Dublin’s Temple Bar. The organisation provided advice, information, advocacy and help with finding a home – as well as a warm welcoming place to meet and have a low-cost meal.

Since its foundation, Focus Ireland’s services have continued to grow and our research and advocacy work ensures that the rights of people who are homeless remain on the political agenda. In addition to our Dublin projects, we now have services and housing projects across Ireland including in Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Sligo and Limerick.

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Transparency and accountability

A voluntary Board of Directors steers Focus Ireland's governance.

Board members also take an active role in fundraising and contribute to the areas of the organisation in which they have the most expertise. You can view our Board members on our Meet The Team page.

The salaries for our executive staff are independently benchmarked on a regular basis to establish an appropriate pay range for the level of responsibility they hold.

As an organisation of more than 250 employees, we are required to publish our Gender Pay Gap Report on an annual basis. Our 2022 report is available now.

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Annual reports

In our annual reports, you’ll find details of our structure, activities and accounts for that year. You can view or download Focus Ireland’s annual reports since 2010 on our reports and publications page.