There are over 2,750 vacant social housing units across Ireland, according to new figures.

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson for Housing, Planning and Government Barry Cowen obtained the figures through a series of Freedom of Information requests and described them as "shocking and unacceptaable".

He said: "The figures show that refurbishment of vacant social homes by Local Authorities needs to be ramped up. The figures obtained by Fianna Fáil show that as of April there are 372 vacant housing units in Dublin City alone. This is despite growing rates of homelessness in our capital city. Other Local Authorities with a large number of vacant housing units include Cork City (361), Cork County (256), Kerry (173), Donegal (149), Tipperary (121) and Longford (103).

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"These figures make it apparent just how completely inadequate the refurbishment funding allocated to local authorities has been. The previous Minister Alan Kelly made the disastrous decision to cut refurbishment funding available to local authorities despite the fact that 2,612 housing units are lying vacant. The cut amounted to a €7m in 2015. The Budget for 2016 has not been finalised for each local authority, but Fianna Fáil is seeking a significant increase."

Mr Cowen also called for the vacant homes to be put into use as soon as possible.

(CD)