Remarks made by Taoiseach Micheál Martin linking immigration to the number of people in emergency homeless accommodation have been criticised in the Dáil as “shameful” by the Social Democrats.Martin later defended his comments, saying there needs to be an understanding that “the composition of homelessness is much different now than it was 10 years ago”.During Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns raised the latest figures for the number of homeless people in emergency accommodation – which stood at 17,517 in March, including more than 5,500 children. She raised reported costs of almost €500 million last year for the provision of emergency accommodation, but said “we cannot measure the human cost”, and “the full extent of the trauma being created by homelessness is something we will never truly know”.Cairns accused the Government of making the situation worse. Martin responded, saying Ireland’s population increase over the last 10 years has been “quite phenomenal” and this is “having an impact on the housing situation”.He said the “migration impact, and I mean this in a general sense, not any casting aspersion, has had impact on housing also”.He said the number of non-Irish people in emergency accommodation was more than 50 per cent, adding: “That’s where we are in the modern era. We’ve got to deal with that. We’ve got to help people who find themselves homeless, of that there is no doubt.”He said more social housing needed to be built and that the Government was doing this – later saying more than 58,000 such homes had been built in the last five years – while also speaking of other efforts to help people get affordable and starter homes.[ Government’s plans to exclude services leaves Occupied Territories Bill ‘gutted’, claims OppositionOpens in new window ]Cairns accused Martin of trying to “spin a positive message on housing when there are 17,000 people who are homeless”. She said: “This is at a time when there are record budget surpluses and the only thing you’ve changed in your approach is to start blaming migrants for that failure. It is shameful.”Martin said he did not have any faith in the Social Democrats’ capacity to deal with housing and homelessness “from what you’ve produced so far”. He added: “Soundbites won’t build houses.”Later Labour TD Marie Sherlock asked Martin what he meant when he said migration had impacted homelessness, saying there should be equal sympathy for Irish and non-Irish people in homelessness. Martin said: “We do need to understand the problem and the challenge,” claiming his reference to migration was “not blaming anybody”. “It’s simply stating the facts that over 50 per cent – it’s even higher in the Dublin area – are [non-Irish citizens]. That’s just the reality,” he said. “That then informs different responses as well.“You can’t attack us for just mentioning the unmentionable, you know? We do need to understand the composition of homelessness is much different now than it was 10 years ago. “We still have to support those who are in emergency accommodation.”