Housing Minister Simon Coveney has been called to tackle the housing crisis in Ireland after figures revealed a further increase in the number of homeless people.

The number of homeless people in Dublin increased to almost 6,000 in January, according to figures by housing charity Focus Ireland.

Fianna Fail Senator and Seanad Group Leader, Catherine Ardagh, is urging Minister Coveney to tackle the crisis immediately.

She said: "This Government has failed to utilise vacant housing projects as part of an overall plan to increase housing supply and reduce the number of people in emergency accommodation. The Minister must urgently look at how best to upgrade or refurbish idle units in order to return them to the market and increase supply,” she added.

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"Fianna Fáil has proposed the introduction of an Empty Property Grant Scheme to encourage landlords or property owners to lease units to Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) or to provide long-term leases to tenants nominated by Local Authorities. This would see these landlords compensated for the full or partial costs of refurbishment by the AHB or the Local Authority. Similar schemes have been brought in in the UK to deal with high vacancy rates and a pilot scheme should be considered for Ireland to tackle the high vacancy rates here in Dublin, and around the country.

"Minister Coveney must take immediate action on these issues to put a stop to the spiralling number of people falling into homelessness in the capital."

(CD/MH)