The Ombudsman for Children told the Minister for Housing he was “deeply concerned” about changes to eligibility requirements for social housing and emergency homeless accommodation.
In a letter to the Minister last July, Niall Muldoon said such changes risked excluding vulnerable groups, including “undocumented families with children, Roma families with children and families seeking international protection” from accessing emergency accommodation and housing supports.
“Such exclusions contradict Ireland’s international commitments, as outlined in the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which emphasise the rights of all children to access homeless accommodation without discrimination, regardless of their migration status or nationality,” he said.
“I urge the department to reconsider these proposed criteria to ensure compliance with Ireland’s international obligations and to prevent any discrimination against children and families in need.”
Muldoon’s letter, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, was sent as the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 was being passed through the Oireachtas.
Under the legislation, each member of a household must be lawfully resident and habitually resident in the State. The lawfully resident requirement will not apply to a member of household who is a child.
Muldoon said he was concerned the provisions would only allow for night-to-night accommodation at the discretion of a local authority for those who did not satisfy the eligibility requirement.
“I also note that consideration of the best interest of child will not apply to these families while their legal and habitual residence is being assessed,” he added.
In his response to Muldoon, Minister for Housing James Browne said the primary motivation for the legislation was to ensure “clarity and consistency” regarding supports provided by the State.
“While applied in practice, there is currently no provision in the Housing Acts requiring residency as an eligibility criterion for social housing or homeless accommodation support,” he said. “This Bill will simply put these eligibility requirements for accessing social housing supports on a statutory footing.”
Browne said his officials liaised with the local authority sector and the Office of the Attorney General to introduce a statutory obligation to ensure anyone eligible was “not simply abandoned” and a “safety net service” would be provided to any household deemed ineligible.
The Fianna Fáil TD also noted that a “number of potentially vulnerable groups” had been listed in the ombudsman’s correspondence.
He said there would be no change to current provisions regarding asylum seekers being entitled to accommodation from the International Protection Accommodation Services .
“Households granted a permission to remain through the international protection process will be entitled to homeless accommodation and apply for social housing - again, there is no change to the current provision,” added Browne.
“Undocumented families from outside Europe who do not have a lawful right to be here, or European families who do not have worker status and/or have arrived in the last 90 days, will be entitled to access the safety net service while they can avail of available assistance, including assistance to return home where appropriate.”
The Ombudsman for Children’s Office said last week that it still had concerns about the impact of the legislation on children but was “engaging constructively” with the Department of Housing and providing advice on impact assessments on children’s rights before the legislation was commenced over the coming months.
“The OCO hope that measures will be put in place to mitigate any potential adverse impact on vulnerable children,” a spokeswoman for the ombudsman’s office said.