House completions are on course to set another record this year after official figures for the first half of the year showed a 21% increase.
The Department of the Environment said 35,957 houses were built in the first six months of the year.
Labour's Eamon Gilmore has said there needs to be a fundamental change in housing policy and claimed the Government was blind to the problems facing working people who want to buy a home.
Reacting to the new statistics, Mr Gilmore said the supply was not focused on helping working people on modest incomes, but on the property market.
A record of just under 69,000 houses were built in 2003.
House completions in Dublin were nearly 26% ahead in the first half, while the figure for the Greater Dublin area showed a 23% increase.
