Record homeless numbers only going to get worse

There were 828 adults and 255 kids availing of Cork’s already overstretched emergency accommodation services in June, according to official figures.

June also saw Cork and Kerry’s combined number of adults living in emergency accommodation breach the 900 mark for the very first time, reaching 902.

The vast majority of these were single adults, many of whom have been trapped in homelessness for years.

June’s figures also revealed that 255 children under the age of 18 in Cork and Kerry were in the emergency accommodation system at the end of the month.

The latest figures published in the Government’s Monthly Homeless Report for June 2026 paint a grim picture for the months ahead with numbers expected to continue to rise.

Head of Communications and Campaigns at Cork Simon Community, Paul Sheehan warned that the service’s emergency accommodation is already full to capacity.

“We’ve seen steady monthly increases since March 2024,” he said. “And there’s little sign of it abating.

“As long as rents in the private rented sector continue to increase and supply continues to be no more than a trickle, especially for one-bed flats, we expect the monthly increases to continue,” said Mr Sheehan.

Single adults with nowhere to go

June set another record monthly high in Cork and Kerry with 689 single adults accessing emergency accommodation, an increase of almost 25% on June 2025.

Behind that figure are people who want to move on but can't because there is nowhere to move to, explained Mr Sheehan.

“They have been the majority of people in homelessness for years, and what has changed is the number, up almost a quarter in twelve months.”

Cork Simon Community’s Home Truths paper published in July found the same pattern over three years. “More people facing homelessness alone, staying longer, and fewer finding a way out,” said Mr Sheehan.

Government urged to meet homeless families

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, has called for the Government to meet with families in emergency accommodation in Cork and hear firsthand the reality of homelessness.

His comments come following confirmation last week that a major Government action plan on child and family homelessness, originally promised for June, would be delayed until September.

Teachta Gould said: “In the week that the Government delayed their family homelessness strategy, we are now seeing that 255 children in Cork and Kerry finished school not knowing where they would be living when their class returns in September.

“Many of these children will walk past boarded up council homes. They will want to know why they can’t live in these homes. Homelessness is not normal.

“I believe that the Taoiseach and the Minister for Housing must sit down with these families in Cork and hear from them the trauma their children are experiencing. These people deserve better. They deserve a place to call home,” concluded Mr Gould.