Photos shared of a homeless woman living on the beach with her children have caused controversy

The photos were posted online yesterday.

Photos showing a homeless mother and her children living on a beach in Cork have caused controversy online. Originally shared by Paul Byrne the post has been shared hundreds of times on other pages and personal Facebook accounts. Ireland is currently experiencing a huge housing crisis and more and more families are finding themselves without anywhere to call home. Many parents have had to move into hotel rooms with their young children. This mother, however, is taking on harsher conditions by living with her nine children in tents on the beach. The images have caused mixed reactions online with some giving their sympathy to the mother of nine, while others have questioned if she has ulterior motives.

"This is heartbreaking in this day and age for this woman and her children to be living as if it were the stone age. How brave and strong is this woman, I see a loving mother here doing her upmost best for her 9 children. They need to be housed, especially with such a small baby." "When I was homeless with my own kids,I chose to take any option besides subjecting them to living in a tent. Family and friends could have rallied around,even if it meant splitting up some of the kids. This is like a holiday camp set up for the media attention and to put pressure on the council for a house regardless of where they are on the list."

Whatever has to lead this mother making such an extreme decision the fact remains that there is a serious housing shortage in Ireland and many families are at risk of ending up in a similar situation. With hundreds of families languishing on waiting lists for social housing while simultaneously being pushed out of the private rental market by rising prices, a huge amount of Irish families are finding themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place with very few options available to them.