Waterford bucks the trend as March report shows homelessness figures down
While last months figures are positive, it may be a few more months before we can see progress made
The number of adults in emergency accommodation in Waterford decreased in March.
That is according to the March monthly homelessness report published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The report showed 106 adults in emergency accommodation in Waterford, down from 112 in February and 111 in January.
Compared with the same period in 2025, the March 2026 figure was eight adults fewer.
While eight people is a small decrease, it is the highest reduction in over two years for the county.
But a good month does not a pattern make, and the five to six months will be key to measuring the effect of new rent rules on homelessness.
In total, 452 people were homeless in the South East last month, compared to 445 in February and 431 last March.
Waterford remains the county with the highest number of adults in emergency accommodation in the south east region.
However, the gap is closing between the Déise and the Premier County, with Tipperary’s March figure at 96, 23 more people than in the same period last year.
Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford all had fewer than 50 adults in emergency accommodation.
Sixty-eight families were homeless in the South East, according to the report, and that included 108 children.
The number of children in homeless accommodation in the South East increased significantly in 2024.
The number exceeded 100 in July with that months figure 111, coming down into the 90s by the end of the year but climibing again in 2025.
In November 2025, 128 children were recorded as homeless in the South East.
But the number of families didn’t change that much, with numbers staying within 60 and 76 from July 2024 to December 2025.
