Fianna Fáil “made a difference” after taking control of the housing portfolio, the Taoiseach has said.
Micheál Martin said his party has historically achieved “very significant” successes in housing, reports Breaking News.
Fianna Fáil took over responsibility for housing in 2020 when Darragh O’Brien became minister as part of the coalition agreement with Fine Gael and the Green Party.
James Browne assumed the role in 2025 following the election and the formation of a new coalition in which several independents replaced the Greens, reports Breaking News.
Before O’Brien’s tenure, the housing department had been led by Fine Gael ministers Eoghan Murphy and Simon Coveney.
Speaking on Virgin Media’s *Monday with Gavan Reilly*, Martin said Fianna Fáil has an attitude focused on “getting things done”, reports Breaking News.
When asked to explain Fianna Fáil’s purpose as it approaches its centenary in 2026, he said the party was pro-European, pro-enterprise and committed to social progress.
Asked whether Fine Gael also supported Europe, enterprise and social progress, he said: “There’s no problem with having two parties of the centre, I would argue maybe Fine Gael might be more centre right and we were more centre left”, reports Breaking News.
Pressed further on the differences between the two parties, Martin said: “I think if you look at over the last number of years, for example, in terms of budgetary approaches – if you take housing, for example, I actually think we’ve made a difference on housing since we came back in.”
He added: “I think we did make a difference as a party, and I think historically, we’ve had very significant achievements”, reports Breaking News.
“There is an attitude within Fianna Fáil that when you get into government, you get things done.”
The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has risen since Fianna Fáil assumed control of the housing portfolio during the Covid-19 period, following what had briefly been a slowdown in a long-term upward trend, reports Breaking News.
The figure stood at 10,148 before pandemic restrictions were introduced and has since increased to 17,517.
The Government has also dropped annual housing completion targets for the current term, instead setting an overall target of 300,000 homes by 2030, though progress has reportedly fallen behind previously published goals, reports Breaking News.
Opposition parties have also criticised the Fianna Fáil-led department during the previous coalition, arguing that targets were set too low and that affordable and social housing delivery had fallen short.
Martin also said Fianna Fáil continues to make “very significant new departures” regarding Northern Ireland, pointing to the party’s role in the Good Friday Agreement and the current Shared Island Unit within the Department of the Taoiseach, reports Breaking News.
Elsewhere in the interview, Martin said it “makes sense” to keep funding in reserve ahead of the Budget, defending the Government’s decision not to spend more of the surplus during the cost-of-living crisis.
He said that aside from billions allocated to strategic investment funds, the Government could potentially record a surplus of around €2.5 billion, reports Breaking News.
“We’ll need that in terms of increases, in terms of potentially more capital requirements – in terms of schools, for example, and other areas.”
Martin also warned: “We’ve got to make sure that we have reserves to deal with any forwarder deterioration in terms of oil supply but consequential increase in price – that is a big concern for me”, reports Breaking News.
He added: “I think it does make sense that we would keep some funding in reserve for the Budget.”
The Taoiseach said the Government had already intervened with measures worth €750 million in response to the fuel crisis this year, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
