More than 100 adults were accessing emergency accommodation in Waterford during the final full week of September, according to newly released homelessness figures.

The Department of Housing report shows 104 adults were in emergency accommodation in Waterford between September 21st and 27th.

Waterford recorded the second-highest figure in the South-East, behind Tipperary with 128 adults.

Elsewhere in the region, Carlow recorded 64 adults, Wexford 44 and Kilkenny 43.

In total, 383 adults were accessing emergency accommodation across the South-East during the week.

Of those, 264 were single adults, while the regional figures included 224 men and 159 women.

The report also shows 89 families were in emergency accommodation across the South-East.

That included 67 single-parent families, while 151 children under the age of 18 were living in emergency accommodation across the region.

Nationally, homelessness has reached its highest recorded level.

A total of 18,065 people were living in emergency accommodation in September, including 12,168 adults and 5,897 children.

The national figure increased by 180 compared with August.

A breakdown of the national figures shows men continued to make up the majority of adults in emergency accommodation, with 7,098 men compared with 5,070 women.

Half of all adults recorded had Irish citizenship, while 31.4% were non-EEA citizens and 18.6% were from the EEA or UK.

Those aged between 25 and 44 made up the largest group at 51.8%, followed by those aged 45 to 64 at 28.3%. A further 17.7% were aged between 18 and 24, while 2.2% were aged 65 or over.

Of the adults recorded nationally, 7,098 were men and 5,070 were women.

The Department’s figures relate to people accessing State-funded local authority emergency accommodation and do not include all forms of homelessness.

Waterford City and County Council is the lead local authority for the South-East homelessness region, which also includes Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford.