Spiralling rents and a major jump in house prices is making it unaffordable for people to get onto the property ladder, according to Labour.

Housing spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan made the statement after the latest CSO figures revealed a 13% jump in house prices nationally over the past year.

She also called for a national affordable housing scheme to be established.

She said: "Wages have not risen by the same level of 12.8% and so many people are being priced out of the housing market.

"To compound the problem, spiralling rents are also making it extremely difficult for people to rent a home while trying to save for a deposit, which in turn is resulting in unprecedented levels of homelessness.

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"With the supply of housing now at an all-time low, the State needs pick up the slack from where private developers have failed. However it is absolutely vital that affordable, as well as social housing, are included in Government plans.

"While rising property prices are a huge problem with Dublin, with warnings from bodies like the American Chamber of Commerce that the crisis has become so severe it may impact Ireland's competitiveness on the international stage, we are also seeing house prices grow by 16.5 % in the west, and 9.8 % in the mid-west.

"Government needs to ensure that the large tracts of publicly owned land that are currently under consideration for mostly private development will be used to build housing that is affordable for people on average incomes."

(CD/LM)