Focus Blog
Do you want to keep up-to-date on the key issues affecting homelessness in Ireland?
What does the expenditure on homelessness tell us about the our approach to tackling homelessness?
Despite its technical title, the Focus on Homelessness report “Public Expenditure on Services for Households Experiencing Homelessness” (March 2025), paints a vivid picture of how we have responded to the enduring homelessness crisis over the last decade. The picture it paints is not one driven by vision or ideology, but rather a reactive response which constantly underestimates the scale of the challenge and consumes resources trying to contain, rather than solve, the problem. It also provides hints about what we could do better.
Minister should rethink proposal to remove ‘no fault eviction’ safety net
Minister for Housing, James Browne, has proposed changes to the‘Tenant in situ’ scheme which, while he presents them as ‘refocusing on families’ and ‘new funding’, in reality, will take away the safety net from people facing homelessness due to ‘no-fault evictions. Focus Ireland has written to the Minister, asking him to reconsider the proposal.
What is Youth Homelessness?
Youth homelessness means people aged 13 -26 who are without stable accommodation and staying in hostels, temporary accommodation, couch surfing or rough sleeping. They are facing homelessness at a crucial point in their emotional, cognitive and social development while transitioning from adolescence to adulthood
Where do potential Coalition partners stand on homelessness?
Housing and homelessness was the most important issue for most people in last Friday’s general election, according to Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD exit poll, with 29% of voters saying that it was their top issue when voting. With all seats now filled, and several potential coalition outcomes now possible, negotiations around housing will likely be one of the deciding factors on whether parties choose to form a coalition government together over the next few weeks.
Non stop increase in adult-only homelessness over last decade shows we need a serious rethink
Our new report shows that adult-only homelessness has been allowed to steadily increase, year on year since 2014, we now have triple the number of homeless adult-only households than we did just a decade ago.
Youth Homelessness: An Obvious Opportunity for Homelessness Prevention
To mark UN International Youth Day, this blog post takes a look at this youth homelessness from the perspective of homelessness prevention. If we wish to truly end homelessness, as we have committed to working towards by 2030, then we must prevent youth homelessness.
Shining a spotlight on women’s homelessness this #IWD2023
On International Women’s Day 2023, Focus Ireland reflects on the current state of women’s homelessness in Ireland and highlights the importance of developing services and policy responses that respond better to the unique needs and experiences of women. This is even more urgent than ever as figures show a 49% rise in the number of women homeless in the last two years.
The winter eviction ban and homelessness: early evidence
The Government’s hasty introduction of a Winter Eviction Ban has failed to halt the rise in the total number of individuals in homelessness so far. The November 2022 homeless figures are the first to reflect the impact of the ban, which came into force at the start of the month but, rather than the decrease that some had predicted, they showed a further increase of 145 to yet another new record level.
An international perspective on Irish homelessness policy
‘From Rebuilding Ireland to Housing for All: international and Irish lessons for tackling homelessness’ was launched in September this year, receiving widespread positive coverage. Here we asked the lead researcher, Professor Nicholas Pleace of York University, to write a guest blog, setting out the main conclusions from the project.
Causes of Family Homelessness in the Dublin Region during the Covid-19 Pandemic
While Covid-19 supended life as know it in 2020, this global disaster has been slowly but surely subsiding. With the roll-out of new vaccines, economies, and societies, have reopened. However, one of the more problematic issues pre-Covid, the use of emergency accommodation to house people experiencing homelessness, is again being used at a much higher rate in the last year.
Why are the numbers of people homeless at record level and what can be done to stop further increases?
With homelessness reaching a new record level in July, this blog looks at why homelessness has risen by 30% in the last year and what immediate and long-term actions must be taken now if we are to stop homeless from rising further.
Solidarity with Young People, Challenging Youth Homelessness: Focus Ireland Youth Services and Advocacy
In recognition of UN International Youth Day, this blog will highlight the risks faced by certain young people in terms of homelessness and housing insecurity, and the supports and services Focus Ireland is providing to address them.
Understanding housing inequalities: The disproportionate risk of homelessness facing migrants living in Ireland
March 2022 saw a sharp rise in the proportion of people with European Union or European Economic Area (EU/EEA) citizenship newly presenting to homeless services, according to figures reported by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE). The increase sparked media speculation concerning the causes of this, the role played by migration, and the implications of this apparent trend for homeless services and the housing sector in general. However, the most recent DRHE Monthly Report to Dublin City Councillors on Homelessness shows that the proportion of new presentations from persons with EU/EEA citizenship markedly fell to a more typical level in April.
Welcome decrease in rough sleeping as adult-only homelessness at record level in Dublin
There was a welcomed slight decrease in the number of individuals found rough sleeping in Dublin in Spring 2022 according to figures published by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) last week . The Official Spring Count of people sleeping rough in the Dublin Region was carried out over the week March 28th – April 3rd and identified a total of 91 individuals confirmed as rough sleeping during the week.
Review of 7 years of spending on homelessness shows it’s time to change
In the first Special Edition of our Focus on Homelessness series, we are looking at Expenditure on Services for Households Experiencing Homelessness. In this blog post, Director of Advocacy Mike Allen outlines why we need a deeper understanding of this, and how this Edition does this.
Why we need an inclusive High Road Covid-Era Back to Work Strategy
In the space of just a few weeks, Covid-19 has fundamentally reconfigured the relationship between welfare and work in Ireland. In this blog post, Dr Mary Murphy, Senior Lecturer at Maynooth University, examines why we need an inclusive high road back to work strategy as we transition out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19 and building a society where we can all have a home to stay put in
The Covid-19 pandemic puts people who are homeless at risk disproportionate risk – not only are they more likely to have underlying health issues, they are unable to follow the key recommendations –wash your hands regularly, stay at home and keep a ‘social distance’ from other people.
Understanding the December 2019 homeless figures – Part 1
Having access to accurate numbers is key to informing policy and services responses designed to tackle homelessness. It is equally vital to have the information behind the numbers to be able to clearly understand trends as they develop.