Simon Week 2026
Ireland's Moment to Lead
Turning Commitment into Action
As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we have a unique opportunity not only to highlight the challenge of homelessness but to demonstrate leadership in addressing it.
Simon Communities of Ireland is calling on Government to ensure that a robust and meaningful EU Council Recommendation on Housing Exclusion is negotiated and adopted during Ireland’s Presidency.
The Recommendation should provide a practical, evidence-based framework for ending homelessness through prevention, housing-led solutions and integrated supports. It should align directly with Member States’ commitments under the Lisbon Declaration and with the actions that homelessness organisations across Europe know are required to end homelessness.
Five years ago, Ireland joined 26 other Member States in signing the Lisbon Declaration and committing to work towards ending homelessness by 2030.
Five years later, the question is no longer whether we know what works.
The question is whether we have the urgency, ambition and political commitment to deliver it.
Throughout Simon Week, policymakers, housing experts, homelessness organisations, advocates and people with lived experience will come together to explore the actions needed to end homelessness in Ireland and across Europe.
We know homelessness is not inevitable.
We know what works.
We know the solutions.
Now we need the ambition and determination to deliver them.