Reada Cronin TD said a toddler died from mould exposure in the UK and called for a state-wide audit and action plan.
Mould in homes "should not be tolerated".
That's according to Tánaiste Micheal Martin after case studies of locals dealing with the impact of black and blue mould were brought to his attention.
Kildare North TD Réada Cronin highlighted health concerns raised by some locals.
She said one young mother and her children suffer from respiratory issues due to black mould, and another woman in Naas has lost 21% lung capacity from toxic blue mould.
She called for a state-wide audit and action plan, noting Ireland's high rates of respiratory diseases and citing a fatal mould case in England.
"Ireland has one of the highest rates of respiratory diseases in the OECD. Given a coroner in England, which has a similar climate to ours, has cited mould as a cause of death in a young child, what is the plan State-wide to audit and tackle this health emergency in housing?"
Tanaiste Micheál Martin responded that local authorities should handle such issues, stressing the need for prompt repairs and tenant rights.
He said mould should not be tolerated in any housing.
"In my view, local authority housing is fundamentally an issue for the local authority to deal with. It should have sufficient capacity to get in early to repair, refurbish or eliminate issues that give rise to mould developing in the first place."
"We constantly talk about local autonomy and local government, but every time something happens, we want to say the Government must do it. Local authorities have responsibility for their housing stock. It is interesting; in the affordable housing schemes, they maintain their housing schemes and their houses. Local authorities need to do the same", he said.
He added: "Maybe, historically, there was a certain attitude when someone came in looking for basic repairs or whatever. People who are tenants are entitled to rights, whether they are in a local authority scheme or any other scheme. Mould should not be tolerated. The local authorities really need to get at it."
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