Sinn Fein has slammed Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy over his failure to address the rental crisis in Ireland.

TD for Louth and East Meath, Imelda Munster, called on the Minister to take action immediately as thousands of tenants are currently living in "grossly substandard accommodation".

She also hit out at the government's Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme and said it is "merely a means of forcing people on the housing list into private rental accommodation to massage housing list numbers".

She said: "HAP is designed to make the housing list look shorter, but by forcing people from the list into private rental housing the government is using tax-payers money to subsidise landlords, some of whom are greedy slum landlords. This system creates more problems and solves none. People are still living in doorways and on riverbanks. Thousands of children remain homeless and the housing lists are astronomical.

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"My party introduced this motion to push the government to take action and ensure there is protection for tenants in private rental accommodation. It is designed to try to push the government to provide funding and resources in order that inspections can be carried out and in order that one can ensure there is compliance and a minimum standard of regulation in the private rental sector. There is no protection at present.

"I am disappointed that the government did not vote in favour of the motion, however we know by now that we can’t expect Fine Gael and their Independent colleagues to do the right thing. I am pleased that the motion passed, and I really hope that this will push the Minister to take action to improve the standard of living for thousands of people who are currently living in desperate conditions."

(CD/MH)