Sinn Fein has slammed the Government for failing to tackle the homeless issue in Ireland after figures in May revealed there are currently over 2,770 children living in emergency accommodation.

Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD said the rise in number of homeless children is down to "government failing".

The Dublin Mid-West TD said: "The figures are rising despite the fact that there has been a significant increase in allocations out of homelessness and preventions into HAP in the last month. This clearly demonstrates that the government has not got the number of new families presenting as homeless each month under control. For every family that exits homelessness another is there to take its place.

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"This is down to the government failing to get to grips with the scale of the problem and failing to introduce measures aimed at keeping families in their homes.

"I am calling on Minister Eoghan Murphy to urgently introduce an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act drafted by Focus Ireland last December, which was previously rejected by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

"This amendment would prevent buy-to-let landlords, who took advantage of substantial tax breaks when purchasing their properties, from issuing vacant possession notices to families when they want to sell the property. This measure alone would prevent more families from becoming homeless and would keep properties on the rental market."

(CD/LM)