Sinn Féin has slammed the Taoiseach for his continued failure to address the housing and homelessness crisis.

The party's Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD spoke out after the Taoiseach claimed on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy's housing failures "ring hollow".

Deputy Ó Broin said: "Of course the Taoiseach would say that there is nothing to the reports from Cabinet Ministers that he has lost faith in his Minister for Housing. However, the Taoiseach is not naïve.

"It is widely known around Leinster House that Fine Gael backbenchers and Cabinet Ministers are getting a hard time over housing in their constituencies and are seeking to blame someone.

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"While Minister Murphy is clearly out of his depth and should go, the real problem is the bad policy. Rebuilding Ireland is Leo Varadkar's housing plan as much as anyone's.

"He had the opportunity when he became leader to start again, instead he has continued with the same failed polices as his predecessors.

"Rebuilding Ireland is still supported by Cabinet, Fine Gael backbenchers, the Independents in government and of course has been facilitated by Fianna Fáil who sought no significant changes to the policy during the talks to renew the confidence and supply, which I find baffling.

"Sinn Féin stated clearly in our motion of no confidence last September that we need a new Minister and a new plan."

He also called on the Taoiseach to start with the cross party motion adopted by the Dáil on 03 October calling for capital expenditure on public housing to be doubled, for the introduction of emergency legislation to stem the flow of families into homelessness and to hold a referendum on enshrining the right to housing in the Constitution.

"If the Taoiseach is serious about addressing the housing and homelessness crisis then this should be his focus, not mounting a half-hearted defence of his embattled Minister," he concluded.