Numbers of homeless families double in Co Kildare
64% increase in households in private emergency accommodation
THERE was a 64% increase in the number of households with dependants in private emergency accommodation (PEA) in Kildare from November 2024 to November 2025, painting a stark picture of the homelessness crisis in the county.
According to Kildare County Council’s chief executive’s management report for December 2025, there were 64 households with dependants in private emergency accommodation as of 30 November 2025. Of those households, 38 had been in PEA for more than six months, with three households having been in such accommodation for more than two years.
These figures represent an increase on the number of families in private emergency accommodation from the same time the year before. According to the equivalent report from KCC for December 2024, the number of households with dependants in PEA was 39 as of 27 November 2024. The 25 additional families in PEA in November 2025 represents a 64.10 % increase in the space of 12 months.
On top of that, there were 13 households with dependants in ‘Own Front Door’ accommodation – another form of temporary accommodation – as of 30 November 2025. This represents a decrease of two from the 15 households in such accommodation as of 27 November 2024.
Speaking to the on the issues of housing and homelessness, cllr Aoife Breslin, who is the chairperson of KCC’s Housing and Regeneration Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), praised the work being done locally and said that “the crisis we’re in lies with the minister”, referring to James Browne, minister for housing, local government and heritage.
Cllr Breslin pointed out that 73 housing units that were planned for Athy had been axed by the Department of Housing. Cllr Breslin added that as chair of the Housing SPC, she had invited the minister to come and engage in discussions, but that he hadn’t done so yet.
Cllr Breslin noted a number of factors in the crisis on a local level in Kildare, such as the difficulty in finding emergency accommodation and the problem of landlords leaving the rental market. Cllr Breslin also criticised the government’s stance on the tenant in situ scheme.
Cllr Breslin struck a more positive tone while commenting on the homeless team at the county council, describing work being done by them as “absolutely fantastic”.
