Irate exchanges between Tánaiste and Deputy Pearse Doherty over housing

The Tánaiste and Sinn Féin Deputy Pearse Doherty were at loggerheads in relation to housing policy in Dáil Éireann earlier today. 

Tanáiste Micheál Martin said that Deputy Doherty has “nothing but a collection of soundbites and a few pages” when it comes to housing policy while Mr Doherty that Government and successive Governments has failed the people of Ireland. 

Deputy Pearse Doherty he recently received a letter from a lady, aged in her 30's, who worked in a Dublin hospital, who had a good job and salary but who could not afford to rent apartments which are priced up to €2,000 a month. He said that Government policy had failed this lady and people like her. He said that lady found herself in a 'hopeless' situation.

"Your Government is failing and it is failing to deliver the genuine affordable homes that working people need. It is widely acknowledged Tanáiste that your housing targets are far, far too low and wholly inadequate to meet the need of the actual demand housing across the state," Deputy Pearse Doherty said. 

Mr Doherty said the Government refused to increase housing investment above 'these inadequate targets' in the recent budget and each year fail to reach the targets: "You keep telling us that you have the most comprehensive housing plan in the history of the State.

"You keep telling us you are spending more and more money on social and affordable homes than every before but yet when you look deep into the facts the reality is very different. This year four billion was supposed to be spent to deliver 14,500 social and affordable homes but today we learn at the end of September less than half this allocation had been spent," he said.

The Sinn Féin representative said that by June of this year only 15% of the social homes which had been promised by Government were delivered and 'only 123 affordable homes out of 4,500 affordable homes that were promised had been delivered.' 

Mr Doherty said that this was the reason that homelessness was rising: "This is why people feel hopeless ... this is why your plan is failing."

He asked that expenditure ceilings for housing needs to be increased to reach the need across the State.

Tanáiste Micheál Martin hit back by saying Sinn Féin didn't have a comprehensive housing plan. He said the Help to Buy scheme helped 42,000 first time buyers purchase their first home. 

He said 30,000 homes were built last year adding the Government exceeded targets again this year and commencements and completions are up 14% on last year.

Mr Martin said Sinn Féin have not 'put in the hard work' and that the First Home equity scheme which helped 2,500 people this year buy houses.

“If you had your way, they would not have be able to avail of that particular scheme,” he said.

He alluded to the empty and derelict homes grant scheme and claimed Sinn Féin opposed it to which Deputy Doherty said 'we haven't.'

“You haven’t put in the hard work and when it comes to young people in this country, just look at Sinn Féin policies, you don’t have anything for first time buyers,” he said, before adding: “Your policies are anti-first time buyers.”