The Housing Minister is being urged to ignore the call from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) to reverse the bedsit ban.

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said lifting the ban would "not see" 5,000 so-called homes returned to the market.

He said: "It would see people crammed into sub-standard accommodation designed to maximise profits for landlords.

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"Minister Eoghan Murphy should reject calls by some landlords to lift the ban on cramped and substandard accommodation.

"Lifting the ban would be a backwards step. It would be an admission that current government policy on housing and homelessness has failed and they have no credible ideas how to tackle the crisis.

"Cramming those at risk of homelessness or those in emergency accommodation, like battery hens, into cramped and unsuitable bedsits is not the answer.

"The Minister needs to immediately knock this idea on the head."

(CD)