Government urged to ramp up housing targets as price growth hits seven-year high

'The private market will not deliver affordable homes for the vast majority of people and it is time for the State to ramp up its direct delivery of new homes.' File picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The Government has been urged to ramp up its affordable housing targets as residential property prices hit a new seven-year high of 15.2%.

The latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office show prices in Dublin rose by 12.7% in the year to March and by 17.3% outside the capital.