The government has been urged to publish its affordable housing scheme following a series of hearings in the Housing Committee.

The ESRI, Housing Agency and the voluntary housing co-operative Ó Cualann were present at the hearing yesterday, 31 January.

ESRI's working paper, Exploring affordability in the Irish Housing Market, published in June 2018, which looked at data between 2005 and 2015, found that those on lower incomes in the private rented sector faced ongoing housing affordability challenges.

Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD highlighted other findings identified in the hearing.

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"The Housing Agency CEO John O'Connor reiterated the need for government policy to strike a balance between the delivery of affordable homes for sale and for rent. That the focus on homeownership must be tempered by the roll out of affordable cost rental," he said.

"The CEO of Ó Cualann Hugh Brennan restated that his housing association has the capacity to delivered more genuinely affordable homes for purchase and it is actively looking at sites where they can deliver such homes.

"Up to 30% of this State's housing stock should be public housing including non-market affordable housing. Unfortunately this government is still dragging its heels on the publication of its affordable housing scheme.

"The Housing Committee will continue with hearings on the issue of affordable housing and we will be putting together a report to send to Minister Murphy outlining a series of recommendations as to how the government can start delivering real affordable homes."

(CM/JG)