The homeless numbers increased to 8,728 in July, up from 8,699 in June. In July, there were 2,651 children in 1,142 families homeless, according to the latest figures from the Department of Housing.

Church of Ireland parish of Kilternan urges people to ‘take the knee’ and pray for racial justice on Wednesday evening.

Last year (up to November 2018) asylum applications to Ireland increased by 27 per cent on the same time in the previous year, with the majority of applicants coming from Georgia, Albania, Syria, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Asylum seekers now have the option to leave Direct Provision centres if they wish and look for their own accommodation. Up to 3,000 people will be eligible to take up temporary or permanent jobs.

“I am grateful to the Supreme Court for reminding us, during these unsettled and cynical times, of what we must be about as a culture, namely, a society that both protects the person and allows his or her talents to flourish.”

Bishops concerned that process of taking in refugees seems to have slipped onto the back-burner of Irish politics.

Archbishop Eamon Martin elected president of Irish Bishops Conference.