Concern has been raised that high demand for St Patrick's Day hotel places is impacting on homeless families.

Dublin South West TD Seán Crowe says the upsurge in demand by people travelling to Ireland for our national holiday is having a negative knock-on effect on homeless families who rely on hotels and other B&B accommodation.

The Sinn Féin TD said the crisis, particularly in the Dublin area, is becoming more acute.

He claims in some cases families are being asked to vacate for other guests in the run up to the holiday weekend.

Deputy Seán Crowe said: "The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive released figures this week that show 60% of homeless families in the Dublin area have been in emergency accommodation for more than six months, while 40% of families have been in hotels, B&Bs, or hostels for over one year.

"Disgracefully, 138 families have spent more than 18 months in emergency accommodation.

"We know that many of these families are living in inappropriate, unsuitable, and insecure accommodation but it's the only alternative they have to living on the street.

"Families have been in contact with my constituency office saying that they are being told to vacate their rooms in the run up to the St Patrick's weekend and have literally nowhere to go.

"A weekend that should be a positive celebration of Irishness will now unfortunately have a negative impact on the homelessness situation."

He believes more needs to be done for housing when special weekends, concerts, or events put additional pressure on resources.

"The Government are either indifferent or unaware of the extent of the crisis and appear to be content on letting the crisis get worse and worse," he said.

"Homeless families are facing into St Patrick’s weekend with nowhere to stay or go for that weekend. There is no emergency plan, no emergency measures, and no solutions coming from the Government as they head off to other parts of the globe".