The European Union is allocating €2.5 bn to help the homeless and families below the poverty line in Europe.

The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, or FEAD, will see aid agencies apply for funding to their own Governments.

The scheme will replace an existing one which has seen free cheese distributed in many countries, including Ireland.

The European Parliament's Rapporteur for the fund, MEP Emer Costello has said the money is not enough - but she hopes it will bring people in from the "margins of society".

A seminar for Non Government Organisations on how to apply to the fund is being held in Dublin today.

Speaking at the event, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor said the fund is an "expression of solidarity" by the Commission with the most vulnerable people in Europe.