Homeless Kildare Families Forced Miles Away As Council Misses Slice Of €50m Emergency Housing Fund

Local representatives have voiced anger over the exclusion.

The number of families in Kildare relying on emergency accommodation has doubled over the summer, according to an internal Kildare County Council Housing Department email seen by Kfm.

The figure does not include hidden homelessness - people couch-surfing or staying with relatives to avoid shelters or because no local emergency spaces are available.

Kfm has also learned that one Kildare mother and her two young children were offered accommodation in Drogheda, almost 80 kilometres away.

The revelation comes as Kildare County Council has been excluded from the Government’s latest €50 million top-up for the Second-Hand Acquisition Programme. 

Housing Minister James Browne said the funding is aimed at eight councils with the highest numbers of long-term homeless households, including Dublin City (€22m), Fingal (€10m), and Cork City (€2m).

Kildare had already received €15 million earlier this year, but the internal email confirms all funds are fully committed, leaving no capacity for additional home purchases in 2025.

It also highlights that refurbishment costs for tenant-in-situ acquisitions are no longer covered by the Department of Housing - an issue previously raised by Kfm in August.

Local representatives have voiced anger over the exclusion. 

Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender said the Government’s decision leaves vulnerable families “abandoned".

Independent Cllr Bill Clear criticised Minister Browne, accusing him of overlooking Kildare despite clear signs of escalating demand.

Minister Browne maintains that reducing the number of families on the homeless register remains his top priority.

Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall has also been reacting to Kildare's exclusion from the €50m allocation.

“Kildare County Council was originally allocated €15 million by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; however, this has already been committed to. It appears that Kildare is getting penalised for trying to do the right thing," he said.

In a statement to Kfm, a spokesperson for Kildare County Council said:

"Kildare County Council received an allocation of €15m for the Second-Hand Acquisitions Programme 2025.  This funding relates to the following priority categories: 

• Tenancy Sustainment - Tenant in Situ
• Exits from homeless services
• People with a disability and older persons requiring urgent housing responses
• Buy and Renew acquisitions which tackle vacancy."

They added: "Kildare County Council requested additional funding to supplement the €15m originally allocated, which has been fully committed. Minister Brown confirmed that the additional €50m funding is being allocated to "the eight city and county councils which generally have the highest numbers of households that have been in emergency accommodation for more than 24 months in the Dublin region and 12 months or more in the remaining four regional authorities."

They said "as Kildare County Council does not fall within this criteria no additional funding, over and above the €15m originally provided, has been allocated to Kildare. The Minister has however confirmed that Kildare County Council will receive a funding allocation in 2026 to support this Programme."

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said: "Supporting individuals and families experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness is a priority for Government. Critical to addressing homelessness is increasing the supply of housing.The €50 million for housing acquisitions is specifically to support larger families with children and Housing First clients identified, to exit long-term homeless emergency accommodation.Funding will be allocated to the eight city and county councils which generally have the highest numbers of households that have been in emergency accommodation for more than 24 months in the Dublin region and 12 months or more in the remaining four regional authorities."
 
They added: "This targeted €50m acquisition programme is complementing all local authority efforts to exit families from homelessness, including in Kildare by using other delivery streams and the Housing Assistance Payment. A record level of capital investment is being provided in 2025 with overall capital funding available of almost €6.8 billion to support the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes."

"Housing supply has increased significantly since the publication of Housing for All in 2021. In particular, 32,787 social homes have been delivered through Build, Acquisition and Leasing schemes from 2022 to 2024. This increased supply of social housing is supporting the increased allocation of homes to households on the social housing waiting list, including households in emergency accommodation. "

"Funding of €303 million is available for the delivery of homeless services in 2025. The budget supports the ongoing operation of 36 family hubs across the country. While hubs are emergency accommodation, they provide a greater level of stability than is possible in emergency hotel accommodation, with the capacity to provide appropriate play-space, cooking and laundry facilities, and communal recreation space, while move-on options to homes are identified and secured. More intensive assistance in terms of welfare, health and housing services are also supplied through family hubs. A key focus of local authorities and their service delivery partners is to support households experiencing homelessness to exit emergency accommodation to a tenancy," the spokesperson said. 

They added: "The Programme for Government also sets out a number of additional measures which the Government will take to address homelessness, including commitments to provide special supports for children impacted by homelessness, focussing social housing allocations on getting families out of long-term homelessness, and ensuring a holistic, cross departmental approach to homelessness prevention. These commitments will be reflected in the new Housing Plan which is currently being finalised."