The Government's Special Rapporteur on Child Protection says the State needs to redouble its effort to effectively deal with the issue of homelessness and young children.
Dr Geoffrey Shannon says children are not passive spectators but are deeply affected by the impact of being homeless.
Speaking in Galway, he said that the right to adequate housing was key.
He said emergency accommodation deprived children of the right to achieve their full potential and compromised their ability to grow and develop.
Dr Shannon said several rights were affected by the problem of homelessness: children's education is compromised, their ability to play is reduced, and their physical and emotional well-being is damaged.
As well as concerns for their health and well-being, their development into the future is also a worry as a result of their experiences during childhood.
He said the State needs to redouble its efforts to significantly improve the figure of 3,000 children in emergency accommodation.
Dr Shannon said we needed to "reimagine a republic" where all children have the right to adequate housing.
He was speaking at the launch of COPE Galway's annual report for 2016.
The charity works to assist those experiencing homelessness in Galway city and county.
The report shows a 27% increase in the number of families seeking assistance and a rise of almost 40% in the number of homeless children in Galway.
More than 130 children were in emergency homeless accommodation last Friday night.
Meanwhile, Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has said the forthcoming budget will include additional resources for social housing, as well as affordability measures for buyers and renters.
