Labour have promised to slash waiting lists for council houses, give tenants greater protection and make housing more affordable for first-time buyers.
Environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore today said Labour would create a housing authority to introduce a range of initiatives that would see 50,000 social housing units built over five years.
As party leader Mr Ruairí Quinn toured the north west today, Mr Gilmore proposed to appoint a commissioner to enforce standards in house building, and a "fair price" certification scheme.
He said waiting lists for housing had more than doubled and homelessness had increased over a time of unprecedented prosperity.
"They [the Government] have put home ownership beyond the reach of young working couples whose hard work has and energy have built this economy," Mr Gilmore said.
He said the Government has turned its back on the homeless and those on housing lists and, in cutting Capital Gains Tax, has helped make speculators "very rich by exploiting the housing needs of our people".