1 November 2025
By Bryan McCarthy
bryan@TheCork.ie
Independent Ireland TD for Cork North-Central, Ken O’Flynn, has accused the Government of presiding over what he described as “a national housing emergency”, following the release of official figures showing a record 16,614 people in emergency accommodation, including 5,238 children and 2,443 families.
“This is a national emergency,” Deputy O’Flynn said. “Five thousand Irish children without a home is not an accident of policy. It is the direct result of a Government that has lost control, lost focus, and lost touch with ordinary people. That number is nothing short of catastrophic failure, it is indicative of the two establishment parties who have ran out of ideas on housing, and as a consequence the most vulnerable continue to suffer”
Deputy O’Flynn said the continuing rise in homelessness — up again since August — shows that Government announcements and glossy housing strategies are failing on every front.
“After years of slogans and spin, the only thing this Government has built is the highest homelessness figure in the history of the State,” he said. “They have poured billions into schemes that enrich developers, consultants, and quangos while families sleep in hotels and cars. It is shameful.”
He called for the housing crisis to be treated with the same urgency as a natural disaster, urging the Government to declare a formal National Housing Emergency, strip back bureaucracy, and return direct-build powers to local authorities. He also said executive bonuses should be frozen in any housing body that fails to meet delivery targets, and that priority should be given to Irish families and workers struggling to find secure accommodation.
“The situation in Cork mirrors the national collapse,” Deputy O’Flynn said. “Every week in Cork, I meet parents who are working full-time yet can’t put a roof over their children’s heads. These are the people who built this country, and this Government has abandoned them.”
He went on to say that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have had decades to fix the housing system but have “utterly failed”.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in power for most of the past quarter-century. If they haven’t fixed housing by now, they never will,” he said. “The people of Ireland deserve leadership that delivers homes, not headlines.”
Deputy O’Flynn concluded: “Homelessness on this scale is not a statistic. It is a stain on our Republic. Every family without a home is a reminder that the State has failed in its first duty — to provide security and dignity for its people.”