This edition of Focus on Homelessness looks at the trends in homelessness among ‘adult-only’ households composed of either a single adult individual or couples without accompanying children. A previous edition of Focus on Homelessness on adult-only households was published in February 2021 and included data up to December 2020. At this time, there had been significant reductions in the number of families (adults with accompanying child dependents) in local authority-funded emergency accommodation (EA), however, the number of adult-only households experiencing homelessness had not followed this trend, and had continued to increase. By December 2020, over 82 percent of households in EA were adult-only.

Over the last nearly three years, we have seen adult-only homelessness continue to rise and reach record levels nearly every month. Until April 2023, the monthly report published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage did not provide a figure for ‘Single Adult’ households accessing emergency homeless accommodation. However, the reports prior to that date included data both on the total number of adults in emergency accommodation and the number of adults with accompanying children. From June 2014 until March 2023, the figure for total number of adults without children used in this report was derived by subtracting the number of adults with children from the total number of adults. From April 2023, the published single adult figure is used. The gender analysis of the pre-2023 figures is calculated on the basis of two assumptions, based on existing information. Firstly, that all couples with accompanying child dependants are heterosexual couples, and secondly that 93% of lone-parent households are female headed. A figure is calculated for both categories each month and then subtracted from the total number of female/male adults to generate the figure used in this report for female/male adult-only households. Thus there is a margin of error associated with the gender breakdown, as in any given month not all couples in EA may be heterosexual and the percent of single parents that are female headed may also vary, but this error is likely to be minor.

Significant developments emerging from this report:

• The number of adult-only households in Emergency Homeless Accommodation has tripled since 2014 (from 1,962 in June 2014 to 6,000 in October 2023) Page 4.
• This increase has primarily occurred in Dublin which now accounts for 70% of all homeless adult-only households. There was no increase in homelessness adult-only households outside of Dublin between 2018 and 2022, but this overall figure masks decreases in some regions and increases in others. Page 6.
• Rising homelessness among adult-only households is not reflected in the numbers of such households on local authority housing waiting lists, which has remained relatively stable. Nevertheless in 2022, adult-only households accounted for 56% of households on waiting lists while only making up 23% of all households. Page 7.
• The gap between households entering emergency accommodation and exits fell in 2020 and 2021, but increases in subsequent years, with declining exits being a greater factor than rising entrances. In 2022, four adult only households entered homelessness for every one that made a sustained exit. Page 9.
• The number of adult-only households who were ‘accepted as homeless’ in Dublin (that is entered emergency accommodation or offered supports, such as Homeless HAP, on the basis of being assessed as homeless) has remained almost static at around 215 month for the last 6 years, except for a slight covid-related dip in 2020) Page 11.
• While homeless adult-only households are predominantly male (75%), the number of females has increased faster than males (171% for females since 2014 compared with 133% for males ) with this pattern being pronounced in the last 3 years (a 44% increase in females as against 34% for males) Page 13-15
• The changes have occurred against a wider context where the number of single people of ‘no fixed abode’ has increased both in committals to prison (Page 18) and in admissions to psychiatric units (Page 19).