More than 19,000 homeless in Ireland, claims Sinn Féin

Official statistics from the Department of Housing said there were 12,827 people experiencing homelessness in September

Homeless tents at Howth Head. Eoin Ó Broin said that while a rough sleeper count is a good idea, the current method does not capture the true number of people sleeping on the streets in Dublin, adding that it needed to be expanded outside the capital city. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

The number of people who are experiencing homelessness is likely to be over 19,000, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said.

Mr Ó Broin, who has compiled a document that details the number of people either living in emergency accommodation or sleeping rough, has estimated that there are 19,264 people in homelessness at present. Of this, 5,484 are children.