Homeless children 'having their childhoods stolen a day at a time' in emergency accommodation

'Children who are homeless are having their childhoods stolen one day at a time,' says Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan. File photo

More than 5,000 children facing Christmas in emergency accommodation are having their "childhoods stolen a day at a time", as the latest figures revealed a record-breaking 16,766 homeless in Ireland at the end of October.

The latest figures from the Department of Housing revealed that 11,492 adults and 5,274 children were living in homeless accommodation, while these numbers also included 2,484 families. This is an increase from September, when 16,614 people were recorded as homeless.