The homelessness agency, Focus Ireland, was today criticised by the Minister for the Environment for using the media to spread inaccurate information on the state of housing needs in the State.
Mr Bobby Molloy was speaking at the launch of a new Focus Ireland housing development at Basin Lane in Dublin.
The project renovated a former Sisters of Charity convent, which will now provide housing for 15 single people who were previously homeless.
Mr Molloy said figures released by the agency, which were critical of Government efforts to address the housing problem throughout the country, were "mistaken".
Focus Ireland spokesperson, Mr Justin O'Brien, said the Government had failed "again this year" to meet the requirement of social housing provision as projected in the National Partnership Plan, and said its target of 25,000 houses by 2003 would not be achieved.
Mr Molloy responded that he had confidence in the NPP and said the needs of 8,700 households had been met this year.
The Minister said there was an increase of £15 million for local housing outlined in last week's budget and that a total of £1.3 billion will have been invested in social housing by his ministry by next year.
Although the Minister said he welcomed critical comments as "helpful and necessary", he said he "would expect criticism to be based on fact".
Focus Ireland said their figures relate to the year 2000, but illustrated that the rate of new construction is not adequate to meet the increasing need for social housing.
Speaking on the Basin Lane project, Mr Molloy praised the Focus Ireland initiative and said he respected the "advocacy role of any voluntary agency".
He said there was ample finance set aside within the NPP for the voluntary housing sector, and assured the agency: "so long as I'm Minister for Housing...no application has or will be turned down for lack of funding".