“Solving homelessness is not a matter of moving people between sofa surfing, hotel rooms and Hubs, it is about providing an adequate supply of affordable, secure homes, with support where needed,” said Mike Allen.

“Christmas should be a time of joy for people to gather and share the happiness of the season in their own homes."

New figures released by Focus Ireland show the number of homeless families in Dublin alone rose to 450 over the first 11 months of this year.