The Peter McVerry Trust says there are 13 empty houses for every homeless adult in Irish cities.
The charity will address the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing and Local Government this morning, to look at how to make use of vacant housing.
Peter McVerry's Head of Communication Francis Doherty, says there is simply no excuse not to tackle homelessness head-on.
Mr Doherty said: "Tackling empty homes is a no-brainer, they are quick to turn around, they're cheaper to turn around than waiting to build new homes.

"There are thousdands of them in cities across Ireland, there are 13 empty homes for every one homeless adult.
"So what we would like for the committee to take on board is the urgency in addressing the issue of vacant homes and the potential they can play in solving the homeless crisis."
source: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/peter-mcverry-trust-there-are-13-empty-houses-for-every-homeless-adult-774952.html
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1 February, 2017 - 10:54 Ciara Plunkett
Listen: McVerry Trust Says County Councils Should Make Vacant Homes Available To Homeless People.
The Peter Mc Verry Trust, which operates most of Kildare's homelessness services says local authorities, such as Kildare County Council, need to do more to turn empty, disused buildings into habitable accommodation.
The charity claims that for every homeless adult in Irish cities, there are 13 empty houses.
Architect Mel Reynolds has accused some County Councils of deliberately under-estimating the numbers of vacant homes that they own:
Listen: audio: [20 secs.] http://www.kfmradio.com/news/01022017-1054/listen-mcverry-trust-says-county-councils-should-make-vacant-homes-available
source: http://www.kfmradio.com/news/01022017-1054/listen-mcverry-trust-says-county-councils-should-make-vacant-homes-available