Fianna Fáil is calling on the Government to address the "escalating" housing crisis in Ireland.

Hundreds of people took part in a march in Dublin on Monday, urging the Govt to take action on housing.

Housing Spokesperson Barry Cowen said: "Minister Coveney's record in delivering social and affordable housing is poor, and attempts to overstate the number of housing completions have backfired in the wake of new census figures.

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"Fine Gael in Government has presided over the lowest number of social housing completions in more than 20 years – will just 4,000 homes constructed between 2011 and 2016. That is significantly less than the annual figures between 1994-2009. This fall off in social housing is one of the main contributors to the current crisis and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency because the private sector is simply unable to meet the current housing demand.

"The Land Bank plan announced only last week is the latest initiative to be unveiled by the Minister, and while it is a step in the right direction, the measure of its success will be judged on the number of homes it actually delivers."

(CD/LM)