The definition of homelessness, and the framework for government action to tackle homelessness in Ireland, are set out in the Housing Act 1988. This legislation specifies that individuals or households are homeless if: (a) they have no accommodation that they can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of; or (b) they are living in an institution, hospital, or emergency accommodation for homeless people because they have no alternative accommodation The latest data on homelessness indicate that 15,199 people were living in emergency accommodation and accommodation for the homeless in November 2024, and 134 individuals were sleeping rough in Dublin at this time. The number of people in the former category had increased by 185.5% since 2015. The number of rough sleepers also increased over this time, but less radically. Note that these data only cover those who are included in the statutory definition of homelessness and are eligible for support from local government. They exclude many others who would logically be regarded as homeless.

The strategy in place to tackle homelessness in Ireland is outlined in the current national housing policy statement – Housing for All – which covers 2021-2030. Ending homelessness by 2030 is the overriding objective of this policy and is linked to four subsidiary aims: (a) supporting the Lisbon Declaration on combatting homelessness; (b) expanding housing first provision; (c) supporting the healthcare needs of homeless people; and (d) preventing and addressing family, child and youth homelessness. This report examines how the national housing policy statement aligns with the national anti-poverty strategy entitled the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, and with other relevant social policies (on affordable housing, housing allowances, social assistance, healthcare, and social services). This analysis highlights significant strengths in both homelssness and anti-poverty policies and some valuable implicit synergies between them. Furthermore, several additional reforms have been introduced since 2021 including the publication of a youth homelessness strategy and the introduction of new anti-poverty commitments following a review of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion. However, the explicit synergies between these policies are limited and relate primarily to affordable housing provision. The two policies therefore operate largely in parallel rather than in combination at national level and are implemented separately at local level. Despite the strengths of policies to fight both homelessness and poverty, some weaknesses are evident in the responses to homelessness they propose, which reduce their effectiveness. There are also some gaps in the suite of policy responses to homelessness outlined across both policies, which undermine the comprehensiveness of the government’s response. The key weaknesses in the housing-led responses to homelessness set out in Housing for All concern the disconnect between the scale and focus of the response and the size and character of the challenge. Plans for social housing provision are insufficiently ambitious and will not provide enough small dwellings and dwellings in cities to meet the specific needs of the majority of homeless people.

A critical gap in the policy responses to homelessness in Ireland in recent years has been that the welcome and marked expansion of housing-led responses has not been matched by complementary action in other social policy fields. To address these weaknesses and gaps, the report suggests that combatting homelessness and meeting the goals of the Lisbon Declaration should be included as an explicit objective of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion. To address this objective, the revised Roadmap should commit to the formulation of an updated homelessness-prevention strategy, the introduction of the reforms of antipoverty policies and social service provision required to operationalise this strategy effectively, and measures to hold all relevant ministries and government agencies accountable for achieving all these objectives.