The Government has confirmed that Ireland will take part in a major international property event in France in March, aiming to boost housing supply by attracting more investors.

The Social Democrats argue the move indicates no shift in policy and will not address affordability.

Rory Hearne, the party's housing spokesperson, made the comments after the participation was confirmed. He said: "The State's participation in this event – which will include government representatives, national agencies and regional authorities – signals there will be no change in housing policy under this administration."

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He added: "Instead, the government will double down on failure by relying on vulture funds and institutional investors for housing delivery. Unfortunately, the type of properties provided under this flawed model mostly results in build-to-rent homes that are completely unaffordable."

Hearne continued: "By participating in this international property event in Cannes, the government shows that its only solution to the housing crisis is to continue bringing in investor funds to buy up Irish homes and turn them into financial assets.

"We don't need more vulture fund real estate investors – we need to leverage the billions sitting in Irish bank accounts to build more social and affordable homes, as proposed by the Social Democrats.

"Unless housing is treated by the State as a human right instead of an investment asset, we will never solve this crisis."