Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan Public Consultation
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, working jointly with the Department of the Taoiseach, has opened a public consultation to inform the development of a new Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan. This work sits within the Government’s housing strategy Delivering Homes, Building Communities, which is an integrated housing and homelessness plan focused on increasing housing supply and supporting people to secure a home of their own.
The consultation opened on 19 January 2026 and will remain open until Sunday 8 February 2026. Submissions received during this period will contribute to the preparation of the Action Plan, which is due to be published in the second quarter of 2026.
The wider housing plan commits to activating the supply of 300,000 additional homes and is supported by more than €9 billion in housing capital funding in 2026. Within this context, homelessness is identified as the most pressing social issue currently facing the State. The Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan is intended to provide a dedicated, cross-departmental response to child and family homelessness, with leadership across Government departments and State agencies.
The proposed Action Plan will place a strong emphasis on prevention, on accelerating exits from homelessness, and on reducing the length of time children and families spend in emergency accommodation. It also aims to address the lived experience of children in emergency accommodation, including access to education, nutrition and mental health supports. Additional measures are proposed to support parents and expectant mothers experiencing homelessness, with a whole-family approach at the core of the Plan.
Submissions are invited from all interested parties, including individuals, organisations and representative bodies. Responses should be no longer than 2,000 words and should focus on priority areas and practical measures that could help address child and family homelessness. Contributors may include a short background note explaining their interest in the issue and can reference any relevant research or material to support their views.
Submissions can be made by email to childfamilyactionplan@housing.gov.ie or by post to the Homelessness Policy, Funding and Delivery Section, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6X0. The closing date for submissions is Sunday 8 February 2026.
All submissions received will be considered as part of the policy development process. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has indicated that it may publish a summary of submissions and anonymised data from responses received.
The Public Consultation Institute of Ireland (PCII) is committed to engaging citizens and empowering communities through the use of emerging technologies, which are transforming how the Government and citizens communicate and interact. PCII’s mission is to bring more people into the public participatory process. Not only will this expand informed public engagement, early studies suggest that it is likely to enhance the diversity and quality of participation. View a list of public consultations currently open at https://www.publicconsultation.ie/haveyoursay