Homeless families and children are being forced to sleep in Garda stations as there is no accommodation available, according to Labour.

The party's housing spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan called on the Government to urgently progress with the Homeless Families Bill and called for the law to be changed.

She said: "The Labour Party currently has a bill that would do just that, that is stuck in legislative limbo because of the slow nature of getting laws through the Oireachtas.

"As it stands, the Housing Acts refer to a person as homeless if there is no accommodation available which the person, "together with any other person who normally resides with him or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him", can reasonably be expected to occupy. The homeless person is then entitled to apply to a housing authority for accommodation or other assistance.

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"But there is no explicit recognition in our current legislative scheme of the 'other persons' as persons in their own right, with entitlements under law.

"Specifically, there is no statutory recognition of the needs of a homeless family unit nor, notwithstanding the passing of the constitutional amendment on the rights of the child, is there any statutory recognition of the constitutional rights of homeless children.

"Our Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017 would require Local Authorities to recognise these persons as a family unit and to have specific regard to the best interests of the children of homeless families in crisis accommodations situations."

(CD/MH)