Over 5,000 children face the appalling vista of Christmas in emergency accommodation
Over 5,000 children face the appalling vista of Christmas in emergency accommodation - The Labour Party
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD said it is outrageous that the level of people entering homelessness continues to rise.
As an additional 152 people, of which 36 are children, are now recorded as homeless, Deputy Sheehan hit out at the Minister’s failure to set out a strategy for dealing with long-term homelessness.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“With Christmas just around the corner, 5,274 children will be spending it in emergency accommodation. There are no excuses to have such record breaking levels of homelessness. In the run up to Budget 2026, myself, opposition spokespeople, and homeless NGOs set out a broad range of approaches that could be adopted to address this crisis. Yet all were ignored.
“With 16,766 living in homelessness, we effectively have the same population as that of Leixlip without a roof over their head. It’s disgraceful.
“It’s particularly galling this week when we have seen the Minister for Justice attempt to conflate the issue of migration with the homelessness crisis. Homelessness was on the rise in Ireland long before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the increase in migration. It’s no way to run a country. This Government needs to face up to the fact that they are failing 16,766 people who will sleep in homelessness tonight.
“Unless this Government changes its approach and fast, we are staring down the track of having 20,000 people living in homelessness. The housing crisis is deepening on every front. Where is the leadership from Government?”