Updated 15.30:
The new Dáil committee on housing and homelessness is meeting for the first time today.
The committee has been established to look at solutions to the housing and homeless crisis.
The first business of the committee is to elect a chairperson.
The cross-party committee has been charged with presenting an interim report by April 28th, and a final report by June 17th.
Fianna Fáil's Dublin Mid West TD John Curran's been elected chair after defeating his constituency colleague, Sinn Féin's Eoin O'Broin.
And Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen says this new committee really has one task: "That's for us to tease out and question the difficulties in order to ensure the correct measures and changes are being made in order to deliver units, because units are not being delivered. As I said early, the private sector has a responsibility too, and there initiatives that could be put in place in order to entice those to be more successful."
It will hear evidence from people affected by the crisis and those working in the sector.
Committee member Eoin Ó Broin of Sinn Féin says it is important for TDs to remember the human toll of the crisis.
He says there are now 2,000 children sleeping in emergency accommodation across the State.
