The huge number of unaffordable mortgages will pose a major challenge to any future government, according to Sinn Féin.

TD Kathleen Funchion has called for any future government to prioritise the expansion of the mortgage to rent process to avoid more people getting into arrears.

Deputy Funchion said: "Families can no longer simply struggle to keep their heads above water they need long term solutions which will keep them in their home. We cannot allow private mortgage holders to become a new wave of homeless.

"At the Oireachtas Housing Committee today, we received a briefing from Conor Skehan of the Housing Agency. He outlined quite clearly that the threat of large numbers of mortgage holders losing their home in the coming months is a real and substantial and require government action in order to prevent this.

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"We believe that one of the best ways to address this problem is through the Mortgage to rent scheme. Up until now the scheme has been far too narrow in scope and required far too much from participants to process any meaningful number of applicants. To date, only 379 people have succeeded in availing of the scheme.

"The Mortgage to Rent Scheme allows homeowners who would otherwise qualify for social housing to relinquish control of their home to a housing body or local authority in order that they may stay in the home and become tenants of that body. This protects them from loss of their home and relieves them of their insurmountable debt.

"This model needs to be expanded and streamlined in order to provide access to more people who are at risk of homelessness. This could be done by increasing house values or income thresholds and reducing the length of time for the MARP process to conclude."

(CD/MH)