The Labour Party has called for increased budget funding towards ending child homelessness.
The party will meet in Dublin today to finalise its priorities ahead of the Dáil returning later this month.
Its parliamentary party along with candidates running in the upcoming general election are set to discuss Labour’s core policies and what it would hope to achieve if elected to government.
These include a children’s charter to give every child a fair start in life.
Labour has selected 16 general election candidates to date and that number is expected to climb above 30 in the weeks ahead.
The party returned 56 councillors in the local elections earlier this year.
While Aodhán Ó Ríordáin was elected an MEP in Dublin.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the party had a very strong result in the local and European elections and a Labour MEP was elected for the first time in over a decade.
We want to build on that success in the general election, she said, and see a strong Labour team return to the Dail.
Ms Bacik said Tipperary TD Alan Kelly would run in the next General Election and there is a new generation of Labour councillors who will also be running in the election.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland the Labour leader added that 16 general election candidates have been selected.
Labour wants to be in Government, she said, and after the election the party will sit down first with other centre-left parties that share its values.
“We would then hope to form a common negotiating block that would push for centre-left policies to be put in place,” Ms Bacik said.
“We have serious policy differences with the three biggest parties, but we want to ensure there is maximum support and centre left values.”
