Waterford homeless rate increased in January
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have published the January report
The number of adults who accessed emergency accommodation in Waterford in the last week of January increased from the last week in December.
This is according to a homelessness report published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
In December 2025, 109 adults accessed emergency accommodation over one week. In January 2026, that number went up to 111.
Waterford had the highest rate of adults accessing emergency accommodation in the South East region. The lowest in the South East was Kilkenny at 45 people.
Overall, Dublin had the highest rate of 8,267, and Leitrim had the lowest at 16.
In the South-East region, the majority of adults in emergency accommodation were aged between 25 and 44.
Victor Sullivan, CEO of Waterford Helping the Homeless, told the Waterford News & Star that his organisation has seen at least three new people access their services per week since November.
"It just keeps getting worse," he said.
Mr Sullivan believes that the figure would be much higher if it included the number of people living in their car or on a friend's couch.
