The head of the construction industry is denying that there is a property bubble.
Tom Parlon of the Construction Industry Federation says prices have only risen marginally compared to the collapse over the last seven years.
He is responding to an ESRI report which says Ireland needs around 90,000 homes in the next seven years to keep up with demand.
He also says builders are now finding it tough to get the money they need to start building the houses Ireland needs.
Mr Parlon said: "The third force of finance is a major issue and we did have a lot of talk about the Strategic Investment Fund.
"There is over €6 billion in it, there's certainly scope there for that to provide some of the matching funding because, as I said before, it appears to be a no-brainer.
"We should be building houses to deal with the demand, to stop the prices from escalating any further and to create the much-needed jobs."
He also says there's a major skills shortage - with CIF data showing just ten people began apprenticeship programmes in bricklaying and related industries this year.
Mr Parlon's also taken issue with the new government - saying he's been unable to secure meetings with the ministers he needs to speak to about Ireland's housing shortage.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News.
