Five homeless families who were due to be evicted from a Dublin city centre hotel today have been told they can remain there until August 1 at their own expense.

The operator of Lynam’s Hotel on O’Connell Street has agreed to let the families stay at their own expense because they have not been offered suitable alternative accommodation by Dublin City Council.

A receiver has been appointed by Nama over the hotel.

Rosie Leonard of the Irish Housing Network said Nama should be doing more to deal with the homelessness crisis in Ireland.

“More than 8,000 families in the country are homeless at the moment. Nama should not be closing (this hotel) down,” she said.

“It should be using this as an opportunity to guarantee high quality emergency accommodation for people in the city who need it.”

Dublin Central Housing Action group spokesperson Eoin Bowman, said the families are facing uncertainty if they leave the hotel.

“The families have been talking to each other and to us and their position is very clear,” he said. “They want to stay here.

“They accept it’s not ideal but at least they know where they are and can get by as best they can.

“This property is owned by Nama, there’s a desperate need for homeless families to have somewhere to stay in Dublin, and they want this place to be kept open as emergency accommodation.”