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The European Parliament was “shocked” on Wednesday to hear an Irish mother has been forced to live in a hotel room with her nine-year- old daughter for a year.

Erica Fleming, 30, stood up and gave an impassioned speech to the EU Commission, who listened to stories of deprivation in Ireland they had never heard before.

Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan revealed earlier this week that the Commission had admitted the Irish Government had never notified it about the huge homeless crisis in Ireland – but Erica ensured the story was heard publicly on Wednesday.

The 30-year- old mother, from Dublin, told how she and daughter Emily, 9, had been living in a hotel in the city because they could not find a home they could afford to rent.

EU officials were left disturbed by Erica's plight and her story of battling against the odds.

(Image: Iona Hiliuta)

Ms Boylan, who invited Erica to speak in Brussels, said: “They (EU officials) were visibly shocked when Erica said she was homeless with her daughter.

“They clearly had an impression of homelessness as being something that happens to those with mental health or addiction issues – but Erica is a respectable mother.

“They were surprised by the number of families who are homeless in Ireland and Erica also went on to raise this is more than a housing issue, that there are concerns for families who are made homeless suffering mental health because of the conditions the children are living in.”

Erica asked the EU representatives for help for the homeless families in Ireland with consideration to the rights of a child.

Ms Boylan said: “Everyone from the delegation was looking to put pressure on the Irish Government.

“They (EU representatives) were honest in saying they were frustrated with the Irish Government but that there was no legislation to force change.

“But they can make recommendations on the homeless situation in Ireland. They recommended that Erica and others raise the homeless issue under a European public consultation, the Social Pillar, which is going on until the end of this year.

“They said Erica and all the NGOs in Ireland should be flagging this situation because when the fiscal treaty was arranged with Ireland, there were certain social targets that unemployment must be increased and poverty reduced.”

(Image: RTE)

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The EU panel, made up of civil servants and policy makers, were also “shocked” to hear there had only been 75 social housing units built last year – the worst on record.

Former housing minister Alan Kelly had vowed 200 would be built last year.

Ms Boylan added: “Erica and the rest of the delegation put the EU Parliament in the picture of what life is like for so many families now in Ireland.

“There is no doubt the European Commission now know about the level of real scale of the problems with homelessness in Ireland.”

Housing representatives from Berlin spoke on rent certainty and made suggestions Ireland could follow a French model recently introduced.

While other homeless representatives from Spain told how old office apartments that had been closed down in the crash had been essentially squatted in by those without a home – but that an arrangement had been made to pay rent towards living in the accommodation.

Other representatives from Ireland stated that there were not enough protections for tenants as the crisis tightened its grip and rents increase beyond affordability for many families.

Ms Boylan said: “The Commission was told that tenants’ rights need to be protected because there were so many stories told of people being made homeless after landlords claimed relatives were moving in to properties.

“People were also telling how the two-year rent cap introduced by Alan Kelly had been exploited and tenants had been evicted when their contracts were up and other stories were told on how rents had been hiked up by huge amounts.”

The Commission was also stunned to hear of the attempted eviction of a man from his Corofin, Co Clare, home last month, by men wearing balaclavas.

Erica Fleming has become the voice for homeless families in Ireland since she and daughter Emily appeared on RTE documentary My Homeless Family last winter.

She has almost 2,000 followers on Twitter and 744 likes on Facebook. Earlier this week she said: “For some reason here in Ireland the enormity of this housing emergency hasn’t been acknowledged quickly enough – and not enough is being done to answer this crisis.

“The Irish Government has been telling the EU that we’re doing phenomenally well and I know I or the other homeless families have not felt the benefit of any apparent recovery.”

Ms Boylan added that the Irish Government had appeared to want to portray itself as being the “best boys in class.”

EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici admitted in documents only revealed earlier this week that: “The

Commission has not been contacted by the Irish authorities on the difficult social housing situation that Ireland is currently facing.”

More than 2,000 children are homeless and 1,000 families in the state and these figures are expected to climb as the lack of housing options continues to cause issues combined with rent hikes.