Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald has rounded on Fianna Fáil in the Dáil during sharp exchanges on homelessness.

She said on Thursday that a dysfunctional housing market was one of the “most scarring’’ legacies left behind by the work of Fianna Fáil in government and the party’s catastrophic handling of the economy.

“What we have done is taken the situation we have been faced with,’’ she added.

She accused Fianna Fáil of not providing many answers to the problem.

Ms Fitzgerald said the homeless figures showed there was a slowdown in the rate of the increase.

“Of course, none of us want to see families go into homeless accommodation or hotel accommodation,’’ she added.

The Government was working steadily for a change in the coming months and towards the middle of next year, she said.

Ms Fitzgerald said 4,240 extra social housing units were provided this year, 1,755 homes purchased, 670 built and 1,500 made habitable.

There was a crisis being dealt with and the plan announced in July would take time, she said.

Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Barry Cowen said the homeless figures had risen again on Wednesday by 48 per cent on the previous month's figures.

A major part of the housing crisis was the lack of supply, and there was a very large chance of house prices being inflated following the latest Central Bank measures, he added.