More than 5,000 homeless children are ‘institutionalised’ by the State

By Cate McCurry, PA

The 5,000 homeless children in Ireland are being “institutionalised” by the state, as new figures show the landmark high of homelessness in the country.

In its monthly update, the Department of Housing said that a total of 16,058 people are now living in emergency accommodation.

This includes 5,014 children and 2,343 families who were homeless at the end of July.

It is the first time the number of homeless children has surpassed 5,000, in what has been described as a “dark” and “shameful” day.

Some opposition TDs said that homeless children will become the next “institutional abuse scandal” to hit the state.

The new figures set another new record of the number of people in emergency accommodation in Ireland.

It is the seventh consecutive month this year in which the figures have risen.

Speaking at a press conference organised by Simon Communities in Dublin, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said that children are being “hidden” among the homeless figures.

He added: “We look back at the institutionalisation of children and families and we go, God, how did that happen? And yet it’s happening right now.

“Children are being institutionalised. I’ve spoken to families who contacted my office and they described being in these situations of emergency accommodation, as being like in prison, that they couldn’t parent their children. They were going to sleep crying. The children were crying. They’re upset.

“This is no place for a child, and the Government and the Irish state knows that. It knows it now. It’s known it for years.

“We see the number of families who, for example, present as homeless. We don’t see the number of children who present and those children who are in those figures, we don’t know enough about them. They’re not tracked.”

The party’s spokesman for housing added: “How much time are each of those children spending in homelessness? They’re in private for profit emergency accommodation with no support services nor proper standards.

“Children are extremely unsuitable situations. I think within the homelessness, children are being hidden and are invisible, and we need to give more priority in terms of their support around that.

“A child should not be spending a day in homelessness, and that’s the reality, and that’s the failure, nor should anyone.”

Ber Grogan, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said that the state is continuing to punish single parents.

“I think that the point on the institutionalisation is, we know that the majority of families experiencing homelessness are single parent families, usually headed up by a single mother,” she said.

“There is the dark history that we have in Ireland, and are we just continuously punishing single parents who can’t afford to pay extortionate rents.”

Labour TD for Limerick Conor Sheehan said it is a “dark” and “shameful” day for the country.

Mr Sheehan said that some families and children are spending a year or two years living in emergency accommodation.

“There is mould, dampness, they can’t wash their clothes. They can’t cook a meal and constantly eating takeaways,” he added.

“Parents, in many cases, are going hungry. They’re dependent on breakfast clubs in local schools in order to keep their children fed. It’s absolutely disgusting, and it’s a national shame.

“This is going to be the next institutional abuse scandal that we as a state will have to deal with in 10 or 15 years’ time.”

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the state and public cannot accept the “normalisation” of people and families living in that way.

“Every month we get a new horrific figure of how many people are in emergency accommodation, of how many children are growing up in emergency accommodation. The impact, the long-term, lifelong impact of this,” he added.

Over 5,000 children now homeless.

A new horrible record broken.

This government is to blame.

— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) August 29, 2025

“We’ve got a new baseline of how many people are homeless, and that baseline only ever goes one way, which is up.

“We have to reject that, this cannot be normal. We cannot accept that it has become normal, and we have this monthly news announcement of absolute horror.

“We need to scream about this, that as a society, we do not accept that this very, very rich country has over 5,000 children now growing up in horrific conditions.

“It is not that long ago since we had almost numbers a third of this. It’s remarkable.”

Niall Garvey, chief executive officer of Mid West Simon, said parents’ mental health is suffering as they struggle to look after their children in homelessness.

“The number of children is now over 5,000 for the first time. It was coming for a while, and here we are,” he added.

“We have a lot of families in emergency accommodation, and emergency accommodation is no place for a family.

“We have noticed over the last 12 months in particular, that as families stay in emergency accommodation – it shouldn’t be long-term – but they’re in hotel rooms. They’re in converted guest houses.

“Their mental health is suffering, and they’re not minding themselves, and they’re not minding their children.

“We have more and more referrals to Tusla for child welfare issues and that that shouldn’t be the case.”