Executive Summary

Homeless Connect broadly welcomes the NI Executive’s move to a multi-year budgetary framework, which it has long advocated for as essential to sustainable homelessness planning. However, the organisation warns that the Draft Budget 2026–2029/30, as currently proposed, risks deepening the homelessness crisis rather than alleviating it.

The submission documents a worsening situation: the number of households with homelessness status on the social housing waiting list has more than doubled in a decade, and growing numbers of children are living in temporary accommodation – trends with serious consequences for health, education and justice services.

Key concerns centre on two areas. On capital funding, proposed allocations appear insufficient to meet the Housing Supply Strategy and Programme for Government targets for social housing, and the Department for Communities has itself acknowledged the shortfall. On resource funding, significant gaps in the Department’s non-ringfenced budget threaten existing service levels, with the Equality Impact Assessment flagging the risk of cuts to core homelessness, prevention and Supporting People services.

The submission also warns that the Draft Budget undermines the Executive’s stated commitment to homelessness prevention. Reduced investment in prevention – including Housing First – would be counterproductive, driving up demand for crisis and temporary accommodation and generating broader public service costs.

Homeless Connect calls on the Executive to commit to a fully funded multi-year budget, set achievable social housing supply targets, protect prevention and Supporting People services, and align spending decisions with its own stated priorities. Without this, the submission argues, social and fiscal pressures across Northern Ireland will continue to escalate.

You can read our full response here.