Pretax profits at an Irish unit of US bank Northern Trust last year increased 10 per cent to €23.18 million.

Northern Trust Corporation has offices in Limerick and in Dublin and new accounts for Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Ireland) Ltd show that pretax profits increased after revenues rose by 9 per cent to €125.87 million.

The company recorded an after tax profit of €19.79 million after incurring a corporation tax charge of €3.38 million.

The company last year paid out a dividend of €50 million to immediate parent, Northern Trust (Ireland) Ltd.

In total last year, Northern Trust (Ireland) Ltd received €175 million in dividends from three connected Irish firms that also included a dividend of €75 million from Northern Trust Management Services (Ireland) Ltd and a €50 million dividend from Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services Ltd.

In turn, Northern Trust (Ireland) Ltd paid out a dividend of $188 million (€160 million) in July 2024 to The Northern Trust Scottish Ltd Partnership.

Northern Trust has been in Ireland since 1989 and opened its Dublin office in 2000 and is today one of Ireland’s largest fund administrators and custodians, supporting global investors across a full spectrum of asset classes and strategies.

The company’s first Limerick office opened in 2007 with 19 staff and the company today employs over 1,800 people across its Dublin offices and two sites in Limerick at Hamilton House and City East Plaza where its Limerick operation has grown rapidly in recent years.

The principal activity of Northern Trust Fiduciary Services (Ireland) Ltd is the provision of a fully integrated custody, depositary and trustee services to collective investment schemes.

The directors state that custody, trustee and depositary fee revenue and AUC (Assets Under Contract) increased during the year “primarily driven by positive equity markets and new business generated by both existing clients through new fund launches and new clients”.

The company’s balance sheet shows that at the end of December last, its shareholder funds totalled €132.6 million while its accumulated profits amounted to €107.4 million.

A separate Irish based Northern Trust firm, Northern Trust Management Services Ltd employs the firm’s Irish based staff and underlining the contribution the firm makes to the economy staff costs at Northern Trust Management Services Ltd for 2023 totalled €163.28 million as numbers employed increased from 1,825 to 1,851.

Globally in 2024 Northern Trust’s revenues increased by 22 per cent from $6.8 billion to $8.3 billion and it recorded pretax profits of $2.65 billion.

The number of homeless people in the State has climbed to another record high, now standing at more than 16,300, including more than 5,100 children.

The latest data, published on Friday by the Department of Housing, shows there were 11,208 adults and 5,145 children in homeless accommodation during the week of August 25th-31st.

These children were included in the 2,391 families registered as homeless last month.

The figures do not include rough-sleepers, those in domestic violence refuges, or the “hidden homeless” such as those sofa surfing.

The figures represent an increase of 295 people since July, when 16,058, including 5,014 children, were homeless.

In August 2024 there were 14,760 people, including 4,561 children, listed as homeless. The latest figure represents an increase of 1,593 homeless people in a single year.

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In Dublin 11,782 people, including 3,813 children, were counted as homeless last month – up from 11,567 people including 3,719 children in July 2025.

The figures for last month show that Irish-born people account for just over half (51 per cent) of all homeless adults, with the rest coming from either the EU or the UK (20 per cent) or farther afield (29 per cent).

Some 252 people living in emergency accommodation last month (2 per cent) were over 65 years of age, while 53 per cent (5,956) were aged 25-44.

A further 3,050 were aged 45-64 while 1,950 were aged 18-24.

Most homeless adults (60 per cent) were men.

The number of homeless single adults stands at 7,170, of whom 4,971 are in Dublin.

Catherine Kenny, chief executive of Dublin Simon Community, said it was not too late for those in power to take “decisive action” on the issue.

“Once again, we are witnessing record-shattering homeless figures. Tragically, we are at a stage where we have come to expect these increases,” she said.

Ms Kenny said Budget 2026 must include a clear, cross-departmental plan to tackle homelessness as a “housing, health and social emergency”.

“This cannot be solved in one year – what we expect is the start of sustained investment over the coming years. We cannot expect different results if we continue acting the same way, with housing, health, and social departments working in silos,” she said.

“We can no longer accept seeing the homeless figures climb upward every month. This has been a crisis for some time and it needs to be treated as the emergency it is.”

[ Children have ‘borne the biggest brunt’ of homelessness crisisOpens in new window ]

Pat Dennigan, chief executive of Focus Ireland, said the upcoming Government plan on housing and homelessness, due to be published in October, must be a “turning point.”

“We need more than modest adjustments – it must deliver a bold and transformative shift in housing and homelessness policy.

“The scale of the crisis demands a strategy that is ambitious, targeted, and capable of delivering real impact for the thousands of people currently without a home, and in particular the 5,145 children who are growing up in emergency accommodation,” he said.

Social Democrats TD and housing spokesperson Rory Hearne described the latest figures as “another shameful milestone”.

He noted that the figures showed 1,559 families with 3,273 children had spent longer than six months in emergency accommodation, a 246 per cent increase since 2022.

“The legacy of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments is one of complete failures to prioritise ending homelessness.

“The Coalition has failed to protect families and children from evictions and skyrocketing rents, to deliver sufficient social and affordable housing, and to invest in prevention,” he said.