Commenting on the DRHE plan, the Immigrant Council of Ireland stated: “It is so important to be careful with language – just because a family is non-EU does not mean they don’t have legal status or housing rights. Everyone has a right to shelter.”

“A lot of people don’t feel safe going into emergency one-night hostels because they get robbed, they get assaulted, they are offered drugs,” Jesuit campaigner warns.

Barry O’Sullivan is the first to donate to a new scheme, ‘Home from Home’, which encourages people who can to donate properties or funds to support the provision of homes to the homeless.

769 families in emergency homeless accommodation in January compared to 683 families in December 2015.

“While families are flooding into homelessness, Ministers are bickering, arguing with one another and disagreeing with one another" - Fr McVerry.