Ireland needs at least 25,000 new homes to be built each year, according to Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Housing Barry Cowen.

Deputy Cowen made the comments after Daft.ie published a report which revealed rent levels across the country have reached historic peaks.

He also called on Housing Minister Simon Coveney to come up with a robust plan to boost the supply of rental accommodation.

Deputy Cowen said: "Minister Coveney needs to come forward with a comprehensive integrated reform package to moderate excessive rental inflation and increase the supply of affordable rental properties. The main reason rents are so high around the country is due to the record low levels of supply in the rental market, which in turn comes about as a result of historically low levels of construction activity in the housing market.

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"The continuing slow growth of new rental supply is a key risk factor endangering economic recovery and increasing living costs for families. Unfortunately the housing action plan is simply not leading to the increase in housing supply which is necessary to establish a stable rental market.

"In 2016 fewer than 15,000 new homes were built nationwide with fewer than 4,000 of these located in Dublin.

"We're still awaiting completion and publication of the Housing Agency's assessment of construction costs. The Department needs to undertake simple actions such as implementing an audit of construction costs in order to determine the factors impeding the delivery of new homes. It's astonishing that the Department still cannot tell us the average cost of building an apartment in Ireland.

"The ham-fisted nature in which the Building Control Regulations were implemented has arguably made the costs of building apartments and housing estates uneconomical. These regulations have to be reformed and a proper system of building control with local authority inspections put in place."

(CD/LM)