Bob Geldof has said he is prepared to take in four refugee families to do his part in helping to deal with the growing migrant crisis.

Speaking to Dave Fanning on RTÉ Radio One, he said that he looks at the crisis with profound shame.

He said he understands the economics and the politics, and that the root cause has to be addressed.

However, he said we are in a period of fundamental shift and when people are poor they move.

Bob Geldof prepared to host four refugee families



"It is a monstrous betrayal of who we are and what we wish to be, we are in a moment that will be discussed and impacted upon in 300 years time, a fundamental shift in the way the world has worked for the last, say, 600 years.

"If there's a new economy there needs to be a new politics. There isn't and it's that failure of new politics that has led to this f***ing disgrace ... this absolute sickening disgrace".

The aid campaigner and singer said he would open the doors to his family home in Kent and his flat in London in a personal response to the shocking scenes.

"I'm prepared - I'm lucky, I've a place in Kent and a flat in London - me and [partner] Jeanne would be prepared to take three families immediately in our place in Kent and a family in our flat in London, immediately, and put them up until such time as they can get going and get a purchase on their future."



Geldof also said that he himself is an economic migrant as Britain accepted him and he said it is the same for thousands of Irish people living in England and Australia and in countries across the world.

Meanwhile, Irish advocacy group Uplift has set up a "Pledge a Bed" campaign for people to share their homes with refugees.

Uplift Director Siobhán O'Donoghue told RTÉ’s News At One that thousands of beds have been offered by people across the island.

6,090 beds have been pledged for refugees since y'day. 28,500 people have signed this petition https://t.co/dTBFbWzwA8 @morningireland — Uplift (@UpliftIRL) September 4, 2015

She said that people do not want to stand back and wait for the crisis to get any worse, describing the response as humanitarian and compassionate.

She said if the pledges are to translate into actual placements, they would have to be administered properly.

Ms O'Donoghue said that she is overwhelmed by the level of the response, saying people are way ahead of the Government.

"People are finding their voice and in finding their voice, they are also taking action and this is the very concrete thing that most people feel that they can offer - a bed in their own home.

"And they want to see the State and the Government leading this. They don't want to be the ones having to do this, but people are leading the Government - they are way ahead of the Government on this."

The Uplift campaign follows similar schemes across Europe offering support to refugees.