DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland now has 5,000 homeless children, a milestone that campaigners and politicians are calling evidence of the state "institutionalising" them, as the country faces yet another record high in homelessness.

In its latest monthly update, the Department of Housing confirmed that 16,058 people were living in emergency accommodation at the end of July. This figure includes 5,014 children and 2,343 families. It marks the first time that the number of homeless children has crossed the 5,000 mark, a development widely described as both a "dark" and "shameful" day for the nation.

Opposition TDs warned that the growing crisis could become the next "institutional abuse scandal" faced by the state. The July figures also represent another all-time high for the number of people in emergency accommodation in Ireland, making this the seventh month in a row that the total has risen.

At a press conference held in Dublin by Simon Communities, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said children are effectively being "hidden" within the statistics on homelessness. Hearne, who serves as his party's housing spokesman, questioned how much of their childhoods these children are now forced to spend in homelessness. He pointed out that many families are placed in private, for-profit emergency accommodation that lacks both support services and proper living standards.

Ber Grogan, executive director of Simon Communities of Ireland, accused the state of continuing to punish single parents, who make up a significant share of those trapped in the system.

Labour TD for Limerick, Conor Sheehan, echoed that view, saying it was a "dark" and "shameful" day for Ireland. He also highlighted that some families, including children, are now spending one or even two years in emergency housing. "There is mould and dampness, they cannot wash their clothes, they cannot cook a meal, and are constantly forced to rely on takeaways," he said.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy warned that neither the government nor the wider public should allow the "normalisation" of families being forced to live in such conditions.

Meanwhile, Niall Garvey, chief executive of Mid West Simon, stressed that parents' mental health is deteriorating as they try to cope with the strain of raising children in homelessness. He warned that the longer the situation continues, the greater the long-term impact will be on both parents and children.