Child homelessness - System failing to help these lost children

IT is a damning comment on Ireland’s much-vaunted ranking among Europe’s richest nations that nearly 500 children were homeless on the streets of our cities and towns in 2004.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of the latest figures available from the Health Services Executive is that the picture is getting worse.

By any standard, this country's consistently high level of child homelessness provides a graphic reflection of a society where vast economic wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, while child poverty and the number of homeless children get worse by the day.