While the party welcomed the plan, housing spokesperson, Dessie Ellis TD, said it has taken too long to deliver in the context of a severe housing crisis.
Mr Ellis was commenting on the announcement by the Department of Environment which detailed plans for the spending of the first tranche of funding for the government's housing strategy.
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He said: "This is not new money or for that matter much of an increase in spending on housing although it is welcome. We are talking about an average of about 500 million on housing each year until 2018 which will not solve the housing crisis but could ease a lot of suffering if used correctly.
"The government has dragged its heels on tackling the housing crisis, allowing it to worsen severely over its four years in office. It has taken a third of a year for them to give more detail on their strategy and in that time little has been delivered on the ground to tackle the lack of housing.
"We need more money for social housing and the government should be looking at using the Strategic Investment Fund for a major boost in addition to their plans. We also need to build more houses with Local Authorities and Housing Associations and move away from dependence on the private market which cannot meet demand or is unwilling to."
(CD/JP)
