The Housing Minister says people should face penalties for failing to bring vacant houses into use. Eoghan Murphy is looking at a number of measures to deal with the housing crisis.

One option is to encourage elderly people living in nursing homes to become landlords and rent out their property. Minister Murphy insists something needs to be done to address the rise in homelessness.

Justin Moran of Age Action says if done right, giving people in full time care an incentive to rent out their homes could be a good move.

However,  he told Midwest News the detail of what is proposed now needs to be looked at carefully, as anyone in full time care under the Fair deal scheme already has an 80 percent levy on their income.