The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is to ask church authorities to give first option to local authorities on any land they may be disposing of to help meet the increasing housing need.
A Department spokesman confirmed last night that officials are to write later this week to the Bishops' Conference explaining its position about the need for social housing.
"We hope to open dialogue with the church in relation to the existing possibilities available in relation to land for affordable housing schemes," the spokesman said.
"The Department would be likely to reach a position where local authorities would have first refusal on any land the church may be disposing of."
He acknowledged the huge role of the church in the past, especially religious orders, over making land available for housing.
In a recent interview, the Minister said the church had tracts of land in its possession and suggested it help the Government in its efforts to solve the housing problem.
He said church authorities had talked about the social problems caused by the high price of housing and had made statements on the issue. With the amount of lands available, it should consider assisting local authorities in any way it could, he suggested.
Mr Dempsey said he knew that some church properties were being sold to provide for elderly religious, but at the same time it had large tracts of land which could be made available to voluntary agencies for those who most needed it.
Under the Minister's Planning Bill published recently, developers will have to sell up to 20 per cent of their land to local authorities for social or affordable housing in exchange for planning permission to build private housing on the remainder.
Announcing the most controversial provision of the Bill Mr Dempsey said his plan "will probably bring a touch more realism into the land market". Builders were in the market to make money, he said, "but governments have wider obligations".
Under the Bill each local authority must draw up a housing strategy assessing the housing needs for its area.
In particular, the authority must assess the need for affordable and social housing, and must then require that a percentage of the land being zoned for private housing be reserved for social and affordable housing. The maximum percentage cannot exceed 20 per cent.