Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and senior ministers have bombarded local authorities with queries on hundreds of people caught up in Ireland's housing crisis.

Fine Gael has sustained heavy criticism from election rivals on its efforts to get to grips with the country's serious housing shortage.

The Fine Gael-led Government's handling of the issue has been a key line of attack by Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and others.

Mr Varadkar and his party have insisted that progress has been made in ramping up supply, including social housing.

Correspondence obtained by the Irish Independent now shows how ministers have been faced with the human misery of the emergency in their own constituencies.

Cases raised include:

Several people who feared they will become homeless;

Families living in overcrowded conditions;

Social housing applicants facing long-waits for homes;

Concern about crime and anti-social behaviour in communities;

Maintenance problems in council houses.

In most of the cases, the only information that was provided by local authorities was the individuals' place on the social housing waiting lists, with councils unable to say when they will be housed.

In some instances, the individuals who contacted ministers were not eligible for the housing they were seeking or applications they made were incomplete.

The most recent figures available show there are almost 69,000 households on the social housing list.

Around 50,400 more are getting Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to help with rent in the private market.

Documents released by local authorities show how Mr Varadkar and seven senior members of Government, including Michael Creed, contacted local authorities' housing departments at least 600 times in 2019.

Mr Varadkar's office contacted Fingal County Council (FCC) on 40 occasions.

One of the cases was a single mother of three who feared she would be left homeless after her landlord wanted to sell the property and issued her with notice to leave.

She apologised for seeking his help due to how busy he was with Brexit, but said she wanted to try everything to avoid homelessness for the sake of her children.

Mr Varadkar asked FCC if her case could be examined. FCC outlined the woman's place on the housing list and said that "regrettably" it couldn't say when she might be offered a house.

Mr Varadkar's staff also raised the case of a pregnant mother of two who was given notice to leave her rental home. FCC said the woman should try to source another rented property under the HAP scheme.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe's office was in touch with Dublin City Council (DCC) 126 times in the first 11 months of the year.

This included the case of a couple who were "deeply concerned" to get a termination of tenancy from their landlord.

They told Mr Donohoe they were more than 10 years on the housing list and couldn't find affordable alternative accommodation.

Health Minister Simon Harris's office got on to Wicklow County Council (WCC) 82 times. In one case, Mr Harris was contacted by an individual who described themselves as "completely distraught" as their landlord was selling their home.

Children's Minister Katherine Zappone contacted South Dublin County Council on 80 occasions on issues ranging from housing applications and homelessness to anti-social behaviour.

Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath was in touch with DCC 68 times, including a case of "serious overcrowding".

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy made no representations to DCC. A spokesperson said that as the minister responsible for housing he is "precluded legally from making representations on individual cases".

Irish Independent