Sinn Fein has described the delay in the Vacant Homes strategy as "deeply disappointing".

Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD said it is "unacceptable".

He said: "Given the urgency of housing crisis and the fact that there are over 183,000 properties lying idle across the State, it would have made sense for the Government to announce measures to immediately bring some of these houses back into use.

"We welcome the fact that the Government is prepared to consider some type of Vacant Homes tax. It would seem it is moving towards the carrot and stick approach that Sinn Féin has advocated.

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"While I understand the Minister of Finance Pascal Donoghue needs to make provision for this sort of move in Budget 2018 there are measures that can be put in place today to help turn around vacant units in areas of high demand.

"The Department of Housing has three very good schemes in place at the moment. They are just chronically underfunded. The Government, in tandem with the local authorities, can start compiling a comprehensive Vacant Homes register that will give them the data they will need if and when a Vacant Homes tax is introduced.

"There is no more time to delay on this issue. Returning Vacant Homes back into to use isn't the silver bullet but many agree that it would be the most efficient use of time and funding given how quickly these units can be turned around."

(CD/LM)