Kildare County Council has been called to allocate land banks for housing, and to bring in outside expertise in order to speed up the design and construction process.

Fianna Fáil General Election candidate for Kildare North Cllr Frank O'Rourke said the housing crisis has led to a increase in emergency accommodation in Kildare and more social homes need to be developed.

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He said: "From meeting with people on the campaign trail it's perfectly clear to me that housing is one of the greatest concerns for the public. People feel that not enough is being done to overcome the crisis. This is understandable when you consider the fact that there are currently 6,681 on the housing waiting list and the number is growing by the day.

"Only 11 new houses were added Kildare County Council's housing stock between 2011 and 2014. This is down from 791 houses which were provided to people on housing waiting lists between 2007 and 2010. The Government is failing in its obligation to provide quality and affordable housing to people in need."

(CD/LM)