Fr Peter McVerry says the current housing crisis is the responsibility of the Taoiseach.
The founder of the Peter McVerry Trust - set up to tackle social disadvantage in Dublin - is asking Enda Kenny to call an emergency meeting with the relevant agencies to deal with the housing shortage.
Fr McVerry will join speakers at a public conference today at Liberty Hall in Dublin focused on the current crisis.
He says effective political leadership is needed:
Other speakers at today's event will include TD Mick Wallace, and families living in emergency accommodation.
Dr Rory Hearne, housing expert and one of the conference organisers, said, “the scale of the housing crisis means that it must be declared a National Emergency. There are now at least 1,500 children living in emergency accommodation.
"This is a clear breach of Ireland’s human rights obligations under Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises the right of every child to an adequate standard of living," he added.
