Sinn Féin has accused the Government of ignoring the housing shortage, particularly in the Greater Dublin area.

The latest report by the ESRI showed that there will be a massive housing shortage if the building of new properties does not increase rapidly.

Leader Gerry Adams TD said: "The Government appears oblivious to the sheer scale of the housing crisis. There is not enough available housing to meet demand. Rents have increased year-on-year since the present government took office.

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"Families are being pushed out of their homes due to the inflexibility of government policy and the unwillingness to provide new public housing stock.

"We have a situation where homelessness is on the rise, where young people are unable to move away from the family home and where a social housing initiative is severely under-resourced."

Sinn Féin is demanding the adoption of a housing policy which delivers the necessary social housing stock to meet the needs of those languishing on waiting lists.

(CD/IT)