A Labour TD has called on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to make good on his promise in Rebuilding Ireland for the "swift turnaround" of vacant Council homes.

This comes after new figures revealed over 10,000 people are currently classed as homeless across Ireland, including almost 4,000 children.

Following the April report, Jan O'Sullivan, Labour housing spokesperson, urged the government to admit the failure of their Rebuilding Ireland Plan.

Deputy O'Sullivan said: "Pillar 5 of Rebuilding Ireland promises to use vacant homes and was described as the 'quick win' and 'low-hanging fruit'. Yet, there are thousands of empty Council houses all around the Country that are sitting for months with no-one in them while families are forced to live in hotels.

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"Anyone knocking on doors in the recent elections will have seen it, especially in our cities. It was striking to me in parts of Limerick City that perfectly good houses that need some work but not a lot, are boarded up for months in areas where homeless families would gladly live.

"A report from the National Oversight and Audit Committee last October identified 3,600 Council-owned homes empty. There is no evidence to suggest that the situation is any better now.

"It is not good enough for the Minister and the Department of Housing to wring his hands and say that it is a matter for Local Authorities. This has to be driven from the top," she concluded.

(CM/MH)