Budget 2027 will leave more people homeless – Sheehan
Budget 2027 will leave more people homeless - Sheehan - The Labour Party
- Government must reverse real terms cut to homeless funding
Labour housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has today condemned the Government’s Budget 2027 housing announcement and called on the Minister for Housing to reverse the real terms cut to homeless services. Responding to today’s announcement in the Dáil, Deputy Sheehan warned that last years budget allocated €513.5 million in current funding for homelessness and this years budget has only allocated €543 million.
That figure excludes inflation from last year and is notwithstanding the fact that Government have yet to publish their updated homeless prevention framework or their child and family homelessness action plan and now their is effectively no money to pay for these vital measures.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“Government have effectively cut essential support while introducing measures that will drive up prices and rents.
“At a time of record homelessness and house prices, Government has chosen to make housing harder to afford while cutting support for those who lose their homes.
“The Minister has still not published the child and family homeless action plan or the updated homelessness prevention framework. This is after slashing vital tenant in situ funding last year.
“This comes as services face growing demand and rapidly rising emergency accommodation costs. Local authorities already spend 18 times more on emergency accommodation than on homelessness prevention or tenancy sustainment. Some 70% of emergency accommodation funding goes directly to private providers. Government is paying heavily for its failure to prevent homelessness, yet this Budget does nothing to break that cycle.
“At the same time, Government is fuelling the affordability crisis that puts people at risk. Increasing Help to Buy pours more public money into a market with too few homes, allowing developers to capture that support through higher prices. Raising the rent-a-room tax-free ceiling gives homeowners scope to charge more. For renters, this risks becoming a rent hike dressed up as relief.
“Instead of a coherent response, we have measures that risk increasing housing costs and less funding to deal with the consequences. Where is the homelessness prevention framework? Where is the Child and Family Homelessness Plan? Where is the funding to turn promises into secure homes?
“Government must now explain how they are going to fund the homeless prevention framework and the child and family homelessness action plan.”