Irish citizens 'pledge a bed' to take more than 1,000 refugees into their homes

CITIZENS across Ireland are "pledging a bed" in their homes to house refugees fleeing war and conflict as the Irish Government comes under increasing criticism for not doing enough to deal with Europe's refugee crisis.

In a campaign initiated by UpLift Ireland, hundreds of people from across the island have signed a pledge to take refugees into their own homes.

UpLift Founding Director Siobhán O'Donoghue said translating public anger into action is vital in order to force political leaders to respond to the crisis:

"The massive response from people across the country really shows up our Government's inaction. We need Taoiseach Enda Kenny to step up and agree to welcome more refugees into Ireland".

UpLift is also holding a number of solidarity demonstrations across the country as well as calling on the public to donate to front-line charities working with refugees.

The public reaction came as the Irish Government continues to be non-committal as to how many refugees it would take although Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told radio stations on Friday that the Irish Government would certainly increase the number of refugees it would accept from 600 to "thousands".

In the North, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin (pictured) said most people in the North of Ireland "would gladly welcome any moves to allow more refugees to come here."

Accepting refugees in the North of Ireland usually requires cooperation with the British Government, but the Deputy First Minister said he was looking into ways of taking unilateral action if moves by Britain's Conservative Government is not forthcoming:

"My Department has already been exploring the feasibility of how we can do that," he said, but added that cooperation with David Cameron's Government would be the "most effective" way.

• Find out more or pledge a bed HERE