The Government will miss its housing targets “by a country mile”, Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has claimed during heated exchanges in the Dáíl.
Mr Doherty told TDs that fewer houses were built in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2023. The CSO has reported 21,634 new homes being delivered this year to the end of September compared with 22,356 in the first nine months of last year, he said.
But Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said it was always the case that “the highest level of delivery is in the last quarter” and a record number of houses would be built this year.
The Government had set an initial target of 33,450 for this year and the Minister insisted “we will deliver in the high 30,000s or early 40,000s this year”.
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Mr Doherty said “the sheer incompetence” of the Government is “off the charts” as he accused Mr O’Brien of “lying” about the figures.
He amended his comment to “deliberately misleading the Dáil” when Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl demanded he withdraw the accusation.
Mr O’Brien said it was galling to hear Sinn Féin accuse anyone of lying, given what the party had been through in the last several weeks.
Mr Doherty said “radically different approach” was needed because the “situation is spiralling out of control”.
He asked If Mr O’Brien accepted that the 40,000 target was not deliverable or would he maintain the “delusion”.
Insisting the Government would deliver in the high 30,000s or early 40,000s Mr O’Brien said both Deutsche Bank and Cairn Homes had independently assessed that more than 40,000 homes would be built this year.
Mr Doherty also said the Government’s long-promised crackdown on Airbnb had been abandoned and thousands of renters risked homelessness. Vulture funds had been given “free rein” buying more than 6,000 units last year and “charging rip-off rents”, he said.
Calling the Sinn Féin TD an “angry man”, Mr O’Brien said “you’re against every plan the Government puts in place. I don’t know what you’re for. I know for sure what you’re against. You take facts and you’ll twist and turn them to suit your own political narrative.”
Mr O’Brien noted there had been a decade of no new housing because of the financial crash.
In response, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said “it’s a bit like ‘the dog ate my homework’ to say this is a legacy issue and we’re trying to deal with it”.
The Government needs more urgency and “more ambition”, she said. “The longer you leave targets unmet or you leave targets too low, the more difficult it is to play catch up.”
Ms Bacik added that by any objective standard, the Government’s strategy had failed. “Rents are up, evictions are up, house prices are up, and most worryingly, the number of people in homelessness is up.”
The numbers contacting housing charity Threshold for assistance had risen by 17.5 per cent and the emigration of teachers, nurses and doctors was down to the housing crisis, Ms Bacik noted.
She called on the Mr O’Brien to announce the Government’s increased targets, which of themselves would have a positive effect on supply.
The Minister said the revised targets are “being worked through right now” in conjunction with the revised national planning framework. “I can’t give you a definitive deadline on that, but it’s important we set our targets and the three parties do,” he said.
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