The Irish Government has sat on the sidelines during the housing crisis, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said.

She urged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to double capital investment in building properties and introduce a rent freeze to help around 10,000 people who are homeless.

Mr Varadkar said his Government was accelerating the building of all types of housing as he accused Sinn Fein of playing politics with the issue.

Ms McDonald said: “You have been timid, you have been a lackey to private landlords.

“You have sat on the sidelines in the vain hope that the market will sort it all out, even though all of the evidence tells you that the market is not sorting this out, that the state has to do the heavy lifting and that any government worthy of the name needs to intervene in an emergency fashion.

“That means doubling your capital investment, it means being bold, it means having ambition, it means ditching your pathetic excuse for dealing with rent control and introducing a rent freeze.

“It is ensuring that you stop the despicable practice of landlords turfing families out to get vacant possession of properties that the state insisted these people buy.”

The homelessness issue dominated questions to the Taoiseach in the Irish parliament, the Dail, as crowds gathered for a massive demonstration outside.

Mr Varadkar said millions of euro were spent this year providing emergency accommodation.

Emergency powers have been brought in to “fast-track” planning.

Measures have been introduced to control rent, for the first time in decades.

The Taoiseach said declaring a housing emergency did not build any more houses.

“In many ways that sums up the Sinn Fein policy around housing, it is to make declarations and to make speeches and to play politics but not put forward solutions that are workable, or in many cases affordable.

A homeless man sits surrounded by protesters, during a Take Back the City group organised demostration in Dublin.

“Sinn Fein really has no credibility when it comes to housing.”

According to the Simon Community, 200,000 people are homeless in Northern Ireland, he noted.

“Of course, we see Sinn Fein councillors all over the country voting down social housing proposals and affordable housing proposals, in city council and in South Dublin.

“So in Northern Ireland, where there is a housing crisis, they walk out of office over a renewable heat initiative and they won’t go back in.

“The truth is, Sinn Fein does not want to solve this problem, they want it to get worse, because they believe they can benefit from it politically, and that is a real shame.”