ESRI says government needs to increase house-building budget by 100 percent to address the crisis

The government needs to increase its house-building budget by 100 percent to address the crisis, according to the ESRI.

It says the capital investment should rise from €2 billion a year to €4 billion.

This would deliver about 18,000 homes a year, as opposed to 9,000 under the current plan.

Research professor Kieran McQuinn says the government can afford the increased investment: