Mental health issues almost double among homeless

A homeless charity which operates two shelters in Cork city has recorded a 90% spike in people presenting with mental health concerns.

The drastic increase was confirmed this week by Dermot Murphy, Director of Services for national homeless support service, Depaul.

On Tuesday, Depaul launched its 2025 Impact Report; Frontline Prevention – Shaping the Present, Looking to the Future, which outlines encouraging progress against an ever-growing demand for services.

In Cork, Depaul runs two sites in the city: Deerpark House on Friar's Walk, and St Vincent’s Hostel on Anglesea Terrace, both of which Mr Murphy said, “run at full capacity all the time”.

The charity supported 512 people in Cork in 2025, while delivering 38 exits from homelessness in across the city and county.

“There isn't any additional capacity in those services to take more people in,” Mr Murphy told the Cork Independent.

“We can see in Cork that there are people sleeping rough.

“So, we know that more supports are necessary,” he added.

Continued on page 6

Commenting on the dramatic increase in those presenting with mental health concerns, Mr Murphy said many of them are “self-identifying” as having low-level mental health issues.

“We need the commitments from the Department of Health, the HSE, to get behind ensuring that there are proper mental health supports in place for our service users, because they face some of the starkest outcomes,” said Mr Murphy.

“We know for a fact, the longer you're in homelessness, the poorer your health outcomes are, and that includes your mental health,” he added.

In light of the 2025 impact report, Depaul is now urging the need for a stronger focus on homelessness prevention, earlier intervention, and a clear pathway out of temporary accommodation.

Mr Murphy said that in order to address Ireland’s homelessness issue, the government needs to deliver what it say’s it’s going to deliver.

“If we do that, that's a good start,” he said.

“If we say we're going to deliver something with regards to social housing, then let's do that. If we say we're going to put the resources in around support care and social care, then let's do that too. And then let's assess where we're at.”

Reducing child homelessness

Last year, Depaul proposed an “ambitious but possible” goal of trying to reduce the number of children experiencing homelessness in Ireland by 1,000. However, the has since increased.

Mr Murphy said there is likely no better preventive measure than stopping homelessness at childhood.

“Children that face homelessness as a child have a higher prevalence of facing homelessness as an adult. Depaul's mission is to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it,” added Mr Murphy.

Last year, Depaul delivered record-breaking results in moving people out of emergency accommodation and into long-term homes, with 914 households and 1,452 individuals moving out of homelessness nationally.

Looking ahead to Budget 2027, Depaul CEO, David Carroll, warned that without bold and immediate action, homelessness risks deepening further, with greater investment needed in housing, prevention, mental health, addiction, and frontline services.

He said: “We cannot sleepwalk into accepting homelessness figures as the new normal. We need to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness, reduce reliance on temporary accommodation, and ensure people have a clear pathway into permanent housing. Strong communities result in less homelessness.”