People in emergency accommodation reaches record 18,065

The number of people in emergency accommodation has surpassed 18,000 for the first time.

Latest figures from the Department of Housing show there were 18,065 homeless in September, a rise of 180 compared to August when the figure stood at 17,885.

Incomplete data provided to the Department last month delayed the publication of September's homeless figures by two weeks, until this evening.

The latest figures show that in September, the number of adults in emergency accommodation was 12,168, while the number of children was 5,897.

Of the 180 individuals that became homeless in September, 67 were children.

This represents a rise of 659 homeless children in the last 12 months.

The Government published an action plan this week backed by an additional €20 million investment in an effort to combat child and family homelessness.

However, homeless advocacy groups pointed out that it required more than a plan on paper and the word "action" was key to reducing homelessness.