Census of Population 2022 Profile 6 - Homelessness

On Census Night, 03 April 2022, a count of people spending the night in either accommodation designated by the State for homeless people or sleeping rough was undertaken. Census 2022 was the third consecutive census where a comprehensive approach to counting the homeless population was carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This publication summarises key aspects of this population, including age profile, country of citizenship, economic status and general health.

The provision of homeless services operates in a changing environment in respect of both the types of services available and the people availing of them. The primary way in which census data on homelessness was generated was through identifying people as being homeless if they spent Census Night in accommodation identified prior to the census as providing shelter specifically for homeless people rather than by self-identification. People who spent Census Night in this accommodation were included in the count, and the information they provided on their census forms is presented in this publication. People who were sleeping rough were also included in the count, as were people who spent Census Night in Tusla domestic violence refuges.

This methodology was agreed beforehand by key stakeholders. The CSO also used administrative data sources to improve the data quality. See the Background Notes for further details on the methodology used.

Geography

There were 10,321 people counted as homeless in Census 2022. The map below shows where the people included in this count spent Census Night based on nine regions.

• More than two-thirds (7,238) of the homeless population was in the Dublin region on Census Night.

• The next highest concentrations of people were in the South-West (7%) and the Mid-East (6%). 

• The North-West recorded the lowest percentage of homeless people at 1% of the total.

Age and Sex Composition

The homeless population was generally younger than the State population, with variations among different age groups and by sex.

• Just over 60% (6,234) of the homeless population was male, whereas 4,087 homeless people were female.

• In contrast, 51% of the State population was female.

• Just under one-third (3,309) of homeless people were aged under 20 years.

• Among these younger people, 52% were male and 48% female.

• In the general population, 26% of people were aged under 20 years (51% of these were male and 49% female).

• There were 3,020 young people aged 0 to 17 years among the homeless population.

• A further 64% of the homeless population was aged between 20 and 59 years.

• Only 4% of the homeless population (417 people) was aged 60 years and over.

• The average age of people counted as homeless was 29.5 years compared with an average of 38.8 years for the general population.

• With an average age of 25.5 years, females in the homeless population were almost 14 years younger on average than females in the general population (39.4 years).

• The average age of males in the homeless population was 32 years, compared with 38.2 years in the general population.

• More than two-thirds (70%) of the female homeless population were under 35 years, compared with 53% of males.

• More than twice as many homeless males were aged 60 years and over compared with females.

Marital Status

The marital status question on the census form provides insight into the number of homeless people who were single, in marriages or partnerships, separated, divorced or widowed.

Please note that owing to relatively high levels of non-response, there is a large 'Not stated' category for marital status among the homeless population. Imputation for non-response is included in the State marital status figures, based upon the distribution of marital statuses across the general population aged 15 and over. This is not applied to the homeless population here as the distribution of marital statuses among the homeless population differs from that of the State population. The analysis here excludes the 'Not stated' category to improve comparability with the State population.

In order to give a better indication of the marital status of the homeless population, the CSO supplemented the data collected in the census with data from administrative sources. This information is presented in the Background Notes.

• More than 80% of homeless people aged 15 years and over were single in 2022 compared with 43% of the State population.

• While married people and those in a same-sex civil partnership accounted for 46% of the State population aged 15 and over, only 12% of homeless people were married.

• Just 47 people, or 1% of the homeless population, were widowed which was lower than the State population where 5% were widowed.

• The number of people who were separated or divorced (383) represented 6% of the homeless population, the same as for the State population.

• A higher proportion of homeless males (85%) were single compared with females (73%).

• Among homeless females aged 15 years and over, 17% were married or in a same-sex civil partnership compared with 9% of males.

Families and Family Structure

For census purposes, a family is defined as a couple with or without children, or a parent with one or more children.

• There were 1,367 family units enumerated as part of the homeless count which represented 5,057 people.

• Almost one-third (430 families) had one child and a further 28% (376 families) had two children.

• A further 231 families had three children and 250 families had four or more children.

• There were more one-parent families with children (711) than couples with children (576).

• However, there were almost twice as many couples with four or more children (162) compared with one-parent families (88).

Of the 5,057 homeless people enumerated in family units, 31% (1,571 people) were in family units with four or more children.