Impact Report 2024
Press Release
Press Release
Dublin,16th September 2025 – Depaul, a leading cross-border charity supporting people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, today launched its 2024 Impact Report, ‘Breaking the Homelessness Cycle – Building Better Futures.’
The report highlights a year of stark challenges but significant impact. Nearly 10,000 people were supported across the island of Ireland, but Depaul warns of longer waiting lists, increased traumas, and deeper mental health and addiction needs amongst service users. Providing further evidence that the current temporary accommodation system is not working.
● 9,836 people were supported in 2024 across the island of Ireland – including 7,412 adults
and 2,424 children
● 50,257 key-working sessions were delivered – a 26% increase on 2023 – reflecting deeper
one-to-one engagement in mental health and addiction supports
● 1,012 people exited homelessness. Of these, support community services prevented 562
individuals and families from entering or returning to homelessness
● Volunteers increased by 49% (231 in 2024 v 155 in 2023). Volunteer hours also rose by
18.3% to 20,192 hours
● 16 babies were born into Depaul’s services
Commenting on the report, David Carroll, CEO of Depaul, said: “Homelessness is neither inevitable nor acceptable. In 2024, we supported almost 10,000 people across Ireland and Northern Ireland, but the scale and complexity of need is growing rapidly. Rising levels of mental health challenges, addiction, trauma and isolation are putting unprecedented pressure on our services.”
“Speaking plainly, public housing supply is far behind where it needs to be, and unfortunately, that will be the reality of the situation for some time. That means organisations like Depaul must continue to step in to meet people where they are at, often at the very worst points in their lives. From those leaving prison with nowhere to turn, to families evicted and unable to afford escalating rents, we provide people with safety, a place to call home and the necessary wraparound supports to enable them to build better futures.”
Rising Mental Health and Addiction Needs
Depaul has reported a sharp rise in frontline engagement in 2024, underscoring the growing complexity of needs among people experiencing homelessness. Frontline staff reported escalating challenges, with drug and alcohol addiction and mental health difficulties now the most urgent and complex issues facing people experiencing homelessness. And that the environment created in temporary accommodation is further adding to these existing issues and is in fact creating a
catastrophe in the making for society further down the road.
In 2024, 706 service users reported mental health concerns, 257 disclosed suicidal thoughts, and frontline staff responded to 135 incidents of self-harm. To meet this urgent need, Depaul delivered over 50,000 keyworking sessions and commissioned research to see where and how service users needed support. This led to the introduction of Headstrong — a new programme launched in 2024 to improve access to mental health and addiction supports for people experiencing homelessness. These direct responses reflect the critical importance of earlier interventions and tailored care.
Niamh Thornton, Senior Services Manager at Depaul, said: “In 2024, our teams delivered over 50,000 keyworking sessions – a 26% increase on 2023 – showing how much more intensive and personalised our work has become. Through initiatives like Headstrong, we can now provide earlier interventions and stronger supports, giving people the tools to sustain their tenancies and rebuild their lives. But demand is growing faster than resources allow, and without significant investment in mental health and addiction services, many people will continue to fall through the cracks.”
Families in Homelessness
Depaul supported 2,166 children and 1,138 families in services in 2024 – but warns that children in unsuitable, emergency accommodation are being deprived not only of stability, but also of the tailored support they need to thrive. Depaul continues to give their best efforts to assist these families, but the scale and complexity of these intersecting crises demand urgent action.
The latest ESRI research reported that when housing costs are considered, one in five children in Ireland—more than 225,000 in total—now live in poverty, at levels similar to those seen during the 2008 financial recession.* This underscores the widening gap between family incomes and the rising costs of essential living, particularly housing. At the same time, the overall number of children in homelessness services has reached over 5,000**—an all-time high.
Dermot Murphy, Director of Services at Depaul, said, “Depaul is doing everything we can to support families, but the sheer scale and complexity of overlapping crises—child poverty back at recession-era levels and over 5,000 children trapped in homelessness services—means too many children are growing up without the stability, safety, and tailored support they urgently need. Children are quite literally spending their formative years in homelessness centres.
This is deeply troubling because we know that experiencing homelessness in childhood has long-lasting effects: it is linked to poorer mental well-being and a higher risk of homelessness in adulthood. Unless urgent, radical action is taken, today’s crisis will become a flashpoint of intergenerational homelessness that will echo for decades.”
Housing First: Expanding Impact Across Ireland
Depaul’s 2024 report also highlights the ongoing success of Depaul’s Housing First programme, which has been operating in Northern Ireland for more than a decade and expanded into the Republic in 2024 with new services in Meath and Dublin.
In 2024 alone, 64 people with complex needs were supported, bringing the total assisted to over 220 since the programme began. Housing First has delivered consistent outcomes — moving people into permanent homes, reducing hospital admissions, and easing pressure on public services. Crucially, Housing First supports both those already homeless as well as those at risk of homelessness.
Time for Action
Depaul’s Impact Report 2024 calls for:
● Sustained investment in Housing First and housing-led solutions, prioritising those with the most complex needs
● Greater focus on mental health and addiction services for people experiencing homelessness
● Tackle the root causes of homelessness, from housing supply to welfare reform
● End the theft of childhood — Take immediate, radical action to stop children growing up in unsuitable emergency accommodation
● Put families at the heart of Housing for All — Ensure the relaunch prioritises families in temporary accommodation for new social housing
● Fund prevention and protect children — Provide sustained funding for the Tenant in Situ scheme and expand HSE/Tusla supports for vulnerable children
● Reform housing supports — Overhaul HAP and deliver a five-year plan to end reliance on Private Emergency Accommodation for families and children.
Depaul warns that without bold and immediate action in Budget 2026, homelessness will become
further entrenched. David Carroll said:
“Budget 2026 is a defining moment. Without decisive action, Ireland risks locking in a legacy of entrenched homelessness for generations. Given the scale of our expertise, Depaul is uniquely placed to support where and how they need us amidst this ongoing homelessness crisis. Still, we are calling for the government to seek common solutions based on best practice so we can put more suitable and accessible supports in place for the people we care for.”
“Budget 2026 must deliver housing-led solutions, strengthen mental health and addiction supports, and adequately fund our sector, which is currently carrying an unsustainable burden. Without this, we risk locking thousands more people – including many families and young children – into further cycles of homelessness and despair.”
The 2024 Impact Report is available here: https://ie.depaulcharity.org/reports-and-
publication/impact-report-2024/
For more information about Depaul and to support their urgent work, visit www.depaul.ie.
– ENDS –
*https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childhood-poverty-rates-in-ireland-now-similar-to-recession-era-levels-says-esri-
report/a1264214137.html
** https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/Homeless_Report_July_2025.pdf
For further information, photography or interview requests with Depaul CEO David Carroll, Dermot Murphy or other Depaul spokespersons, please contact: Laura Greer | Etch Communications | laura@etchcomms.ie | 086 960 5600
Ciara O’Driscoll| Etch Communications | ciara@etchcomms.ie | 087 689 3600
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