The Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has said the housing disaster being experienced in Ireland is the cumulative result of Fine Gael being in government for more than a decade.
She told the Dáil it was nothing but spin from the Government that it was delivering affordable housing, when it barely reached 40% of its own target of 4,100 homes.
Ms Cairns said the astronomical house prices and rents mean that housing is now only affordable for those on the highest incomes.
She said that business groups like IBEC was describing the lack of housing as a "critical barrier".
In reply, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney said foreign direct investment had never been stronger and multi-nationals have faith in what the government is doing - tackling supply.
He said brand new types of housing schemes were being delivered through brand new legislation, and predicted there would be a "dramatic acceleration in affordable housing schemes" in the coming years.
The minister contended that the Social Democrats "handily forget" where Ireland was when Fine Gael came into office more than a decade ago - with the IMF controlling the country's finances and a completely broken construction industry.
The Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said people are being robbed of the roof over their heads as a result of a cruel Government decision.
"These are real people with nowhere to go," she said.
Mr Coveney responded saying the pace of delivery of housing is not fast enough but it is accelerating all the time.
"There are far too many homeless people in this country but we are responding by increasing supply," he said.
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
