Rise in non-Irish citizens in homeless accommodation

Significant rise in non-Irish citizens in homeless accommodation - minister

Updated / Sunday, 1 Nov 2026 14:36

The number of non-Irish citizens in emergency accommodation has significantly increased, the Minister for Housing has said.

James Browne said that nationally around 50% of those in emergency accommodation are non-Irish citizens, and in Dublin that figure is 58% and rising.

He added that they have "every right to housing".

Speaking to RTÉ's This Week, Mr Browne said: "They have a right to remain here, but they do tend to have, I suppose, a bigger challenge around socio-economics, around being able to afford a home, and what we're trying to do is find a way to provide them with homes as well.

"But it's challenging because homelessness is really rising in Dublin, where there is an acute housing shortage, not just social houses."

---

Listen to Minister James Browne's interview on RTÉ's This Week

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

---

"Nobody is saying because they're non-citizens they shouldn't be housed, but we have to understand where people are coming from into emergency accommodation, and what their needs are to get them back out in terms of how you address it.

"So, it's understanding the facts is absolutely critical to addressing it, and kind of blinding ourselves away from what the facts is not going to help address the situation," he said.

Mr Browne said they have to "deal with the facts" and "we have to understand where people are coming from into emergency accommodation and what their needs are to get them back out".

Separately, he said he could not give an exact time for when the latest homelessness figures will be released after their scheduled publication was delayed on Friday.

"The figures weren't released because there is a challenge in terms of gathering the numbers and finalising them as a result of the current work-to-rule, and it does require a certain amount of work," he said.

Mr Browne also confirmed that a national planning statement will go to Cabinet on Tuesday, which will provide legal certainty to new apartment building guidelines.

The guidelines, which allow builders to include more studio apartments in housing developments, have faced legal challenges.