Over 4,000 home repossession orders have been lodged in courts, according to new figures.

A total of 188 homes in Ireland were repossessed from July to September, a 92% rise on the same period in 2013.

Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming accused the Government of ignoring the figures and said the Mortgage-to-Rent scheme has been a complete failure.

Mr Fleming said: "The success rate of mortgage holders who have applied to the scheme is equally abysmal, with a mere 3% getting through the application process successfully.

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"More than 15% of mortgage accounts for family homes are now in arrears, which is more than three times higher than the figure at the end of December 2010. The most recent statistics from the Central Bank show that a staggering 117,000 principal dwelling house mortgage accounts are in arrears; almost 60,000 of these are in arrears of a year or more. The country is potentially facing 25,000 home repossessions next year alone.

"Homeless figures for families have risen five fold since January alone. Three families are becoming homeless every single day and 1,570 children are currently sleeping in emergency accommodation. This crisis is going to get much worse unless the Government shakes itself out of its slumber and develops coherent policies for keeping families in their homes."

(CD)