The housing and homeless charity Peter McVerry Trust has hit its strategic housing target 12 months ahead of schedule.

The charity's strategic plan for 2016 to 2020 had set out to more than double its housing units to 450 by the end of next year.

However, the charity announced on Thursday it hit that target 12 months early.

It came as the group lodged a planning application for 12 apartments on Shaw Street in Dublin 2.

The project is one of a number of apartment schemes being delivered by the charity in Dublin city - with projects active in Dublin 2, Dublin 4, Dublin 6 and Dublin 8.

Peter McVerry CEO Pat Doyle said: "Back in 2016 we made a strategic commitment to grow our housing stock to ensure we could provide more pathways out of homelessness than ever before.

"I'm delighted that we have been able to more than double our housing stock in four years and that we are now one year ahead of our plans.

"However, this isn't about targets it's really about delivering more homes for people in need as quickly as we can."

"We are committed to the Housing First model and to ensuring that people can realise their right to housing.

"The only way we can deliver on both these fronts is to ensure we play our part in housing the most vulnerable, particularly single people, for whom housing is in shortest supply."

Mr Doyle said the charity will now redouble its efforts in 2020.

"We are putting more resources than ever into our housing development programme, not just in Dublin but right across the country from Dundalk to Tralee and Bray to Galway."

"We have a plan to add at a minimum of 100 further units in 2020 and are working on a range of other opportunities that will see more empty buildings brought back to use, more town centre retail spaces converted to homes, more derelict buildings regenerated, and more new homes built for people who need them."

Main image: Fr Peter McVerry takes part in a march along O'Connell Street in Dublin in 2013 | Image: Brian Lawless/PA Archive/PA Images