Latest: TD adds to call for tax on owners of empty houses as homeless numbers rise

More than 5,000 people were homeless across the country last month and more than 200 were found sleeping rough in Dublin on one night this month.

Update - 10.45pm: The Housing Minister Simon Coveney has come under fire over the latest homeless figures.

Mr Coveney says the figures are "stark" but significant resources are being applied to the problem.