Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has said no decisions have been made in relation to extending the temporary eviction ban but the situation is under "close review".

"I am watching the situation and assessing it very closely, and any proposals with regard to changes or extensions would be brought to Cabinet at the appropriate time and that would be subject to consultation as well with the Attorney General," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, the minister added: "The additional protections that are there, particularly for tenants, remain place until the end of March and for most, until the middle of June."

He also said that recent homeless figures "are too high" and it is a "really difficult situation".

He said that while there has been a reduction in the number of families presenting to emergency accommodation and a levelling off in the numbers, the Government wants to see people exiting homelesses into safe and secure homes.

Earlier, Sinn Féin said the Government has not met its targets in relation to social and affordable homes.

The party's Spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane, said there is a lot more that can be done and it is "not good enough" to keep talking about a housing crisis.

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, he said: "The Government sets targets and they haven't met all of their key targets in relation to social and affordable homes."

Minister of State Thomas Byrne said there was "no celebration" in Government earlier this week regarding housing figures, but rather an acknowledgement that targets were exceeded.

Speaking on the same programme, Mr Byrne said Housing For All is not just about building houses, but about ensuring the systems are in place to allow that to happen - such as water, sewerage and planning.

"Whether it's incentives for purchasers to be able to buy those houses, to put in place cost rental, to put in place affordable homes," he added.

Independent TD Denis Naughten said there are over 160,000 empty premises across the country based on the census analysis and reopening those homes needs to be prioritised.

"We're crying out for population in the west and northwest and yet we have 45,000 vacant homes there today that need to be opened up to deal with the pressure and housing demand that's there at the moment," he said.

Right2Change TD Joan Collins said there are people who have been on the housing list for over a decade.

She said that unless there is political will from the Government to do something, there will be more crises in communities.

"This Government must and has to extend that eviction ban for at least another year to get their house in order," she added.