The Irish government is said to be considering the use of privately rented accommodation to house the homeless.

The new strategy would mean government agencies would focus more on relocating the homeless to rented homes rather than emergency hostels.

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Drafts plans, which have been reported this morning, include proposals to eliminate homelessness by ensuring people are not left in emergency residences, such as B&Bs or shelters, for more than six months.

However, these plans do not include any estimate of cost, or the amount of funding such a scheme would require in order to achieve this target.

The HSE has already frozen funding for homeless services at last year's levels, causing the postponement of several planned projects.

(PR/JM)