Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has urged the Housing Minister to publish the April homeless figures this week.

The request comes after councils were asked to remove almost 600 people living in temporary emergency accommodation arrangements from last month's March homeless report.

Deputy Ó Broin said: "The April homeless figures are due out this month. Minister Murphy must publish them this week. Failure to do so would show that the Minister, not content with manipulating the figures, is now in the business of actually hiding them.

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"The monthly homeless figures are an important measure of whether Government housing policy is working or not. They must continue to be published monthly and must include all homeless families in Section 10 funded temporary accommodation."

He also called on Minister Eoghan Murphy to provide a review on the exclusions in the March report.

"If the Minister wants to review the methodology underlying the figures, I have no objection to that," he added. "However, such a review must address the exclusion from the monthly reports of those people in homeless hostels without government funding, women and children in Tusla funded domestic violence emergency and step down accommodation, and those languishing in Direct Provision as a form of emergency accommodation after getting their leave to remain." 

(CM/MH)