Homelessness in West of Ireland trebles in a decade as problem continues to spiral
Homelessness in the West of Ireland has more than trebled in the past decade, new figures confirm.
The Department of Housing’s latest homeless report shows there were 428 homeless adults in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in May.
This was a 3% increase compared with May of last year, but it represents a 212% increase since May 2016.
Most of the homeless adults in the West were living in Galway but Mayo accounts for the huge increase in homelessness in the past 10 years.
In 2016 there were 132 homeless adults in Galway, compared with 215 now. The rise in homelessness in Mayo has been massive, increasing from four homeless people in May 2016 to 195 in the same month this year.
There was one person homeless in Roscommon in May 2016, compared with 18 now.
Child homelessness in the West of Ireland has more than trebled in the past decade from 62 homeless children in May 2016 to 194 homeless children in May of this year.
Homelessness in Galway City and County improved slightly this May compared with last year – there were 215 homeless adults in Galway at the most recent count compared with 236 in May 2025.
There were 24 pensioners aged 65 and over who are homeless and 80 young people aged 18-24.
Nationally, the figures show there were 17,447 homeless people, including 5,583 children.
David Carroll, Chief Executive of homeless charity Depaul, noted the sadness of thousands of children “trapped in emergency accommodation as the summer holidays arrive”.
“These 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,” he said.