On 19th January 2026 Simon Communities of Ireland published their new report: Older Adult Homelessness in Ireland.
The report puts six policy recommendations forward, each supported by concrete actions.
Key Findings
The report highlights how homelessness in later life is driven by a combination of structural factors and individual life-course experiences. Speakers at the September 2025 Simon Week event in Galway pointed to policy gaps arising from assumptions that older age is characterised by home ownership or secure tenure. In reality, reliance on the private housing markets at a time of rising rents and house prices, insufficient pension incomes, and a lack of age-friendly housing is increasing vulnerability or housing precarity/insecurity among older people.
Individual factors such as low lifetime earnings, illness, disability, relationship breakdown, institutionalisation, and bereavement further heighten the risks of experiencing homelessness. When homelessness occurs in later life, it has profound and interconnected impacts on physical health, mental wellbeing, social inclusion and emotional security, making it a significant public health and social issue.
