26th September 2025
Galway Simon Community, in conjunction with the Simon Communities of Ireland, is today, Friday 26th September, hosting a conference in Galway focused on the growing crisis of older people retiring into homelessness. The event will highlight this escalating crisis as one of the most urgent and under-recognised challenges facing Ireland’s housing system.
Recent Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage statistics have shown that since 2020, there has been a 104% increase in people aged over 65 experiencing homelessness, rising from 122 in 2020 to 249 in June 2025.
Ber Grogan, Executive Director of Simon Communities of Ireland said:
“Ireland is facing a quiet crisis. Nobody should have to face the trauma of homelessness in older age, yet we are seeing people who have worked all their lives finding themselves with no safe, secure place to call home. The solutions are within reach: increase the supply of age-appropriate housing, strengthen rent protections, and ensure that housing and health supports are fully integrated. We must act now to ensure older people can retire with dignity and stability.”
Carol Baumann, Galway Simon Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to host a conference on such an important topic and are very pleased to be joined by some of the leading experts in the area. Homelessness among older adults is one of the fastest growing cohorts both locally and nationally, and it is critical that we put in place responses to the crisis that will prevent older people from accessing Emergency Accommodation. We need coordinated action across housing, health and social protection to prevent older people from falling into homelessness and to help those affected to rebuild their lives. We know from our own work with clients that if we can divert people away from Emergency Accommodation the long-term outcomes for them are much more positive.”
Simon Week 2025 represents one of The Simon Communities of Ireland’s most focused national campaigns to date, uniting practitioners, policymakers, people with lived experience of homelessness, and communities. Bringing local, national, international, and lived-experience perspectives to the table, the conference shared insights on the supply and design of age-friendly homes, integrated health and social care, income adequacy, and Housing First adapted for later life.
ENDS
For further information contact Aileen Gaskin 087 7724 717 / aileen@communicationsclinic.ie
