Budget 2026
Press Release
Press Release
Dublin, 7th October 2025 – Depaul today welcomes the attempt to address child poverty and the cost of living with Budget 2026 but awaits further details as to how these supports will be targeted to those in poverty and those experiencing homelessness, particularly children and their families. We welcome the targeted relief for families and renters and the social protection package including the planned increase in social welfare payments, the minimum wage and the Child Support Payment. However, this budget needed to be about impacting affordability – which is deeply linked to housing, food, and heating costs – and supporting children and their families in homelessness, and in order to prevent homelessness and we don’t believe the measures have gone far enough.
Particularly in relation to child poverty and homelessness. We welcome the commitment to introducing a child poverty target of 3% and the package of funding but it is not enough. We remain deeply disappointed that the opportunity was not taken to specifically target the 5,000+ children living in emergency accommodation in Ireland and all those living below the poverty line. We are calling on the Government to reduce this number by 1,000 by Summer 2026.
We believe that the immediate allocation of funding to local authorities to maintain the tenant in situ scheme is key as part of an overall approach. We await further details but are saddened to not see so far an indication of the restoration of funding to the Tenant-In-Situ scheme and that this is once again being underfunded. We also await to see the specific funding allocated to second hand acquisitions – we believe this should be targeted to those families longest in homelessness.
This scheme is a fundamental homeless prevention tool without which thousands more would be in homelessness. The HSE and Tusla must examine what supports are being provided for children who find themselves in temporary accommodation. We must provide a national five-year plan for the reduction of Private Emergency Accommodation as a major source of temporary accommodation, particularly for families and children.
Depaul welcomes the retention of the rent tax credit for another three years. This measure provides essential maintenance of subsidy for renters. In terms of supply, we note the expected introduction of a VAT cut for developers who build new apartments and the retention of the Help-to-Buy scheme at the current cap. We also welcome the extension of the income tax deductions for small landlords who retrofit their properties to support the upgrading of rental housing stock.
The €2.9 billion to go towards the delivery of new-build social homes and the acquisition of second-hand housing is welcomed – but we await further details. We have long asked for an examination of the current Housing Assistance Payment system (HAPS) – particularly in light of the changes to the Rent Pressure Zones. With this in mind we welcome the €2 billion which will be directed towards social support programmes – but we believe the urgent review of HAP is even more important in long term housing planning. While these measures aim to drive the delivery of housing, and improve current stock they lack focus on immediate homelessness prevention – we await further details.
The planned overall increase in the Health budget is welcome but more is needed. We appreciate the additional staff for mental health services, with a major focus on crisis support and suicide reduction but as Depaul has outlined in the past this is the tip of the iceberg. We are deeply disappointed that we see no specific interventions for those experiencing homelessness with complex mental health needs – we see this as an omission and one we have seen year on year. This is particularly difficult to see once again off the back of our own mental health report which we published last year detailing the huge need for supports around the mental health of those experiencing homelessness. We are saddened that once again nothing significant is being pumped into this area relative to the need.
We continue to call for short term, emergency measures which must be taken to prioritise families in temporary accommodation for the allocation of any new social housing. We also note no mention of ‘Housing for All’ in today’s announcement – and we keenly await details of how Budget 2026 will support the delivery of the review of this which will be published imminently.
We continue to demand a national five-year plan for the reduction of Private Emergency Accommodation as a major source of temporary accommodation for families and children. We urge the Government to use the remainder of this term to implement social inclusion policies that truly help those most marginalised.
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About Depaul
Depaul is a charity supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Established in 2002 in Ireland and 2005 in Northern Ireland, it is now a leading cross-border organisation. Our focus is on those experiencing homelessness and marginalisation, who need vital support and the opportunity to realise their true potential. Our mission is to end homelessness and change lives, and in the next three years, we aim to transform the lives of 3,500 individuals by moving them out of homelessness or homeless services. We offer support and guidance to break the cycle of homelessness and assist our service users in making positive choices for their future. Depaul believes homelessness has no place. Depaul currently manages 43 specialised accommodations and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, providing 800-bed spaces per night. For more information, visit: www.depaul.ie
For further information please contact: Colette Campbell: Communications & Advocacy Depaul – colette.campbell@depaulcharity.net