The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has climbed slightly over the past month.
The latest data published by the Department of Housing, shows that during the last week of March there were 13,866 people in emergency accommodation, of whom 4,147 were children and 9,719 were adults.
Overall, the March figures are up by 25 people compared to the previous month, when 13,841 people were homeless.
Simon Communities of Ireland said the figures show an increase of 1,878 people (16%) in emergency accommodation in the 12 months since March 2023.
There were 1,981 homeless families - a 21% (342) increase in the year, while 4,147 were children - a 19% (675) increase in the year.
Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said: "The figures released by the department today reveals a 16% year-on-year increase of men, women and children living in homelessness.
''While we welcome the fact that some regions have shown a small decline this month, we must reflect on the fact that it is almost ten years since these figures began to be published and homelessness was declared a crisis.
"At the end of 2014, the department reported 3,738 people in homelessness. Today's figures show an increase of 10,128 men, women and children in homelessness since then. That is a shocking figure.''
Commenting on the latest figures, Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien said: "Those without a home remain the priority for this Government.
"This year in 2024 we are making €242 million available for the delivery of homeless services - a 12.6% increase on the previous year.
"While we continue to fund much needed services, we are also ramping up the supply of social homes and ensuring the Tenant in Situ Scheme is continued.
"This means that we can provide safe, secure social homes for life."
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The number of people in emergency accommodation in Co Dublin reached a record high of 10,180 in March, with 80 more people seeking shelter in Dublin last month than in February.
"It is a slightly better picture in terms of family homelessness in the sense we have not seen a rise. And in terms of single homelessness, unfortunately, we are still seeing 68 additional singles coming into homelessness than we had in homelessness last month," said Mary Hayes, Director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Ms Hayes said many older people are becoming homeless.
"We are cognisant of anybody who is at risk of homelessness in the older age category, and we would try and prevent... So for example, in March alone, in terms of singles, we prevented 87 people from becoming homeless."
Focus Ireland has welcomed the Government confirming that revised housing targets are to be set but warned that housing policy is moving "far too slowly".
"We welcome the Taoiseach's recognition that the exiting new housing targets for social, rental, and private housing are inadequate and will be increased," said Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan.
"However, things are moving far too slowly for the over 4,000 children who are homeless in Ireland. This massive increase in homelessness was not inevitable and its root cause is the repeated failure to deliver sufficient social and affordable housing."
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said that there needs to be an "emergency response" to the housing crisis.
Mr Ó Broin said that recent figures from the CSO, showing a drop off in housing and apartment completions, contradicts Government "spin" that the housing situation is improving.
He said that the reason people enter emergency accommodation is because the Government does not have an adequate number of social houses.
