Labour has urged the government to redevelop the vacant Player Wills site in Dublin in order to address the lack of affordable housing in the capital.

The South Circular Road site has the potential to have over 500 social and affordable homes, in conjunction with the social housing on St Teresa's Gardens land.

The party's representative for Dublin South Central, Cllr Rebecca Moynihan identified the site as "one of the most accessible parts of Dublin City centre".

Cllr Moynihan's comments come after a report in the Irish Independent on the average price for new homes in 2018.

The average new sale price for Dublin housing is over €430,000.

Ms Moynihan said: "The report in today's Irish Independent on the average price for new homes in 2018 shows the total lack of affordable housing and confirms what young families and those trying to buy already know. Homes in Dublin are out of the reach of far too many, and the Government has ceded control to the private market that is more interested in building mansions and land speculation.

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"The lack of new social and affordable homes is forcing families to commute or use unsuitable accommodation and will over time destroy communities across Dublin as more and more areas become enclaves for the wealthy.

"Action is needed to ensure homes are within people's reach. The Labour Party has put forward an ambitious plan to deliver over 80,000 affordable homes on publicly owned land over five years."

Cllr Moynihan also identified vacant sites like Player Wills as the answer to the problem.

She said: "Getting access to affordable, secure housing and quality rental accommodation is impossible for too many people in my area and right across Dublin. We know that the demand is there for affordable housing, but the State needs to start acquiring appropriate sites like the Player Wills and start building housing along with appropriate community facilities.

"After years of private market failure, we must provide for a new model to tackle the housing crisis and it is time we took radical action to provide our citizens with homes.

"The Government's reliance on private developers, and the practice of land speculation, means that enough affordable homes will never be built and the figures published today prove that.

"The supply crisis can only be sustainably resolved through long-term State action that delivers affordable housing once and for all."

(CM/MH)