Sinn Fein has slammed the Chair of the Housing Agency after he suggested that families living in emergency accommodation are not genuinely homeless.

The party's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD also called on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to disassociate himself from the remarks made by Conor Skehan.

Deputy Ó Broin said: "Conor Skehan's comments accusing some homeless families as 'gaming the system' are deeply hurtful to the thousands of people living in emergency accommodation.

"They are also not based on any evidence. In 2016 the Department of Housing commissioned the Housing Agency to produce a report on the then policy of allocating 50% of Council homes in Dublin to homeless families. While the report some of potential perverse incentives it provided no evidence to support its claims.

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"The reason why is because there is no evidence to support this accusation. Families presenting as homeless must provide evidence of their housing need such as a Notice to Quit or supporting documentation from a professional such as a social worker.

"Families who present as homeless without such documentation are, as a general rule, refused access to emergency accommodation. Council staff working in the homeless sections are tasked with ensuring that no allocation of emergency accommodation is made to a family without a genuine need.

"For the chair of the Housing Agency to claim that some families in emergency accommodation are 'gaming the system' is not only deeply regrettable but not based on any evidence whatsoever.

"Given that the body he chairs was set up to provide government with evidence based policy advice today's comments are very concerning."

(CD/MH)