5,188 Children homeless – when will Government act?
5,188 Children homeless - when will Government act? - The Labour Party
Labour housing spokesperson Deputy Conor Sheehan has today called for a renewed sense of urgency from Government following the publication of the December 2025 homeless figures, which show 16,734 people now living in emergency accommodation including 5,188 children. Speaking in response to the latest figures released today, Deputy Sheehan said the scale of homelessness exposes a complete failure by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to protect the most vulnerable and demanded an immediate change of course, including real supply, real protections for renters, and an end to policies that normalise homelessness.
Deputy Conor Sheehan said:
“Sixteen thousand seven hundred and thirty four people are now without a home, including more than five thousand children. There is no acceptable level of homelessness, yet under successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments it has become the new normal. That is a devastating indictment of political failure. The State has the resources to solve this housing emergency, but it lacks the political will to do so, and until that changes these numbers will continue to rise.
“Children growing up in emergency accommodation face overcrowding, instability, disrupted education and lasting trauma. Ministers continue to tell the public that there is no alternative, yet that is simply not true. We have the resources to build homes at scale. What we do not have is a Government willing to stand up to vested interests, regulate the market properly, and treat housing as a basic public good rather than a commodity.
“Yesterday we heard the Tanaiste once again attempt to deflect responsibility for rising homelessness by pointing the finger at migrants. That rhetoric is wrong and it is dangerous. It does nothing to address the real causes of homelessness, which are chronic under supply, spiralling rents, and a refusal by Government to intervene decisively in a broken housing system.
“At the same time, the Cabinet has agreed to changes to rent rules that have effectively thrown renters to the mercy of the market. Weakening protections and allowing sharper rent increases will push more families and more children into homelessness. You cannot claim to be tackling homelessness while actively making renting more insecure and more expensive. And I’m sure we are going to see an increase in homeless numbers as a direct result of these changes.
“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are failing in their duty to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. They have overseen record homelessness, record rents, and record house prices, and they continue to offer excuses instead of solutions.
“What is needed now is immediate action. The Government must reverse the damaging rent changes, massively scale up the delivery of genuinely affordable and social homes, and use the full power of the State to end this crisis. Homelessness is a political choice. Labour is calling on the Government to choose differently and to act now to ensure that every person and every child in Ireland has a safe and secure home.”