Fianna Fáil is calling for a meeting to be held after it was revealed that the budget allocated for homeless services has a projected deficit of €18.5m.

Dublin City Council has notified the Department of Environment and is urging for a meeting between the city council's cabinet policy group and the Minister for Environment, Alan Kelly.

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Group Leader Councillor Paul McAuliffe said: "The Government need to clarify why they indicated last December that they were willing to fund all necessary services and yet they have now left as a massive €18.5 million shortfall. The impact of this decision will mean that there will be no funding for any emergency accommodation in the final months of this year.

"The Minister is effectively turfing-out more than 2,000 people in emergency accommodation. The Minister must agree to our request for an all-party meeting in order to resolve this issue and ensure emergency accommodation remains a safety net in our capital city."

(CD/JP)