The Chair of Dublin City Council's Housing Committee is calling on the government to immediately address the housing crisis.

Sinn Féin Councillor Críona Ní Dhálaigh referred to the current housing crisis as a "man-made" crisis, at a conference organised by Impact trade union.

She said the crisis could have been avoided if the right choices and policies had been made.

-- Advertisement --

She said: "Instead, the responsibility for providing social housing was abandoned by Government to the speculators, the private developers and unaccountable landlords.

"By drawing €1 billion from the Strategic Investment Fund an additional 6,600 local authority homes could be built within 18 months. These would be additional to the homes which the Government have already committed to providing. If 6,600 rent supplement recipients were housed it would represent a saving of €29 million on the scheme based on the average payment."

(CD/JP)