A new action group has hit out at development plans for the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Dublin.

Up to 3,000 new homes are expected to be built on the NAMA-controlled land after it was redesignated as a strategic development zone.

The new designation was sought by Dublin City Council to speed up planning permission for the 34-hectare area on the Poolbeg peninsula, which is one of the biggest empty plots in the capital.

The area was purchased for €412 million in 2006 by a consortium including Bernard McNamara, with a loan from Anglo Irish Bank. It was transferred to NAMA in 2012, valued at only a fraction of its earlier price tag.

The site has been earmarked mainly for residential development, but also for commercial, retail and educational facilities.

At least 10% of units on the plot will be used for social housing, but some campaigners have called for that level to be increased.

The Irish Glass Bottle Site Housing Action Group, organised by People Before Profit, wants the land to be specifically earmarked for council and affordable accommodation.

Party member and campaign spokesperson Annette Mooney said: “In recent years, there has been a concerted attempt to stigmatise the very idea of large council estates.

“This is entirely unjustified. We are now facing a housing emergency.

"There are huge problem in Ringsend and the wider south inner city with adult children sleeping on the sofa of their parents homes because they cannot afford to move out.”

More council houses are urgently needed to address Dublin's spiralling housing crsis, she said.