The Housing Minister has been accused of being "out of his depth" in tackling the homelessness issue across Ireland.

Sinn Fein described the latest homeless figures in south Dublin as "alarming", after it was revealed that at the end of October there were 459 households including 199 families in emergency accommodation.

The party's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said: "These figures are very alarming as they show a significant upward trend in the number both presenting and being placed in emergency accommodation.

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"Any reading of these figures shows that the Governments response to the homelessness crisis just is not working. Minister Murphy admitted as much at the weekend when he said that the crisis would get worse before it gets better.

"In fact, this crisis will continue to get worse until the Government changes policy. We need action to keep people in their homes such as restrictions on vacant possession and substantial renovation Notices to Quit. We also need a more aggressive approach to get turnkey properties and vacant homes into use to get individuals and families out of emergency accommodation.

"We need a change of direction and a new sense of urgency if the Minister is to turn this crisis around."

(CD/LM)