Dundalk Simon Community Statement on January 2025 Homeless Report

Dundalk Simon Community calls for urgent government action as homelessness climbs and private market remains out of reach. 

Dundalk, 28th February 2025: After a brief seasonal dip in December, Ireland’s homelessness figures have once again surged, reaffirming the unrelenting nature of the crisis. The Department of Housing’s latest report reveals 393 homeless people in the North-East region, equating to 68 families, 130 children and 165 single adults across counties Louth, Cavan and Monaghan.

Despite repeated warnings from Dundalk Simon and other homelessness organisations, Government still lacks a comprehensive plan to reduce these numbers. The crisis is deepening, yet thousands of people remain trapped in emergency accommodation with no clear pathway to a home. 

“The homelessness crisis is not an inevitability—it is a direct result of political choices. What people need are able pathways out of homelessness—homes they can afford, security they can rely on, and policies that prioritise long-term solutions. People need hope and security, not continued scarcity, unaffordability, and instability,” said Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dundalk Simon Community. “The Government cannot continue to push homelessness down the agenda. It must become a central pillar of a new national housing strategy—anything less is an abdication of responsibility.” 

This figure that does not account for those rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers, individuals in domestic violence shelters, or those in hidden homelessness—people sleeping in cars, on couches, or in unsuitable living conditions. 

A Housing Plan Without a Homelessness Pillar is Not a Plan 

Dundalk Simon Community is calling on the Government to integrate homelessness as a core pillar in any future housing plan. This must include: 

• A long-term commitment to social and cost-rental housing—until it constitutes at least 20% of the national housing stock, as per the Housing Commission recommendations.

• A fully resourced national homelessness prevention strategy—ring-fencing 20% of the homelessness budget for dedicated prevention supports.

• A clear strategy for the private rental sector, ensuring those currently in it have security and that those in emergency accommodation have viable routes into stable, affordable homes.

“Homelessness is not just about housing—it’s about people being locked out of every avenue to stability,” Kenny continued. “Without investment in prevention, the numbers will continue to rise. We need political will to shift away from emergency accommodation and towards lasting solutions.” 

Dundalk Simon Community also urges the Government to acknowledge that homelessness cannot be solved without tackling the root causes—including addiction and mental health. 

A new national drug strategy must be created, incorporating the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use. 

“Without a targeted response to addiction, we are failing the very people we claim to help,” said Kenny. “Housing alone won’t solve homelessness—if we ignore health and social factors, the cycle will continue indefinitely.” 

Dundalk Simon Community is calling for decisive leadership, clear commitments, and an end to short-term, reactionary policies.  

“Hope cannot survive in a system that leaves people trapped in emergency accommodation with no way out,” Kenny concluded. “The Government must act—not with more rhetoric, but with real solutions that open doors, rather than closing them.”