After Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald of “telling lies” during a heated discussion over the housing crisis, there were ugly scenes in the Dáil, reports RTE.
After Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty stepped in to warn the chair of what Mr. Martin had stated in Irish, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy asked Mr. Martin to rescind the charge that Ms. McDonald was lying.
In response, the Taoiseach said he never accused the Sinn Féin leader of lying, reports RTE.
Ms. McDonald’s assertion during Leaders’ Questions that the government was “being led by the nose by lobbyists” and “singing from the same hymn sheet of institutional property funds” sparked the argument.
She asserted that the Taoiseach intended to “remove the only modest protection [for renters] and leave them at the mercy of greedy landlords,” citing Rent Pressure Zones, reports RTE.
The opposition’s “misrepresentation goes on and on” since “normal service” had returned, Mr. Martin said.
He informed the Dáil that he had only discussed reforming housing policy with his own staff and their Department of Housing colleagues.
Mr. Martin cited the Oireachtas lobbying register to enumerate a number of developers and consultancy firms that Sinn Féin’s Housing Spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin, met with, reports RTE.
The Taoiseach stated that private sector investment and state financing for housing must be balanced.
Conor Sheehan, the Labour spokesperson for housing and Limerick City, described current government policies as “intent on making it worse and worse” and demanded a “radical reset” of Ireland’s approach to the housing problem, reports RTE.
Mr. Sheehan stated that the emphasis should be on a “increase in supply of affordable homes” rather than an existing policy that he claimed would “turbocharge” home prices during the Labour motion on housing in the Dáil.
The Land Development Agency should be “given teeth” to develop homes at affordable costs, according to Mr. Sheehan and his party, who claim that failing to do so would be “robbing a generation” of a fundamental right, reports RTE.
Mr. Sheehan noted that Housing Minister James Browne was not present in the Dáil chamber when the debate began, saying: “I’m calling on the minister, well I would if he was here, to invite the EU housing commissioner here as soon as possible,” reports RTE.
He went on to say that he thinks “the EU can play a role” in aiding Ireland in resolving its housing crisis.
Christopher O’Sullivan, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, expressed regret for Mr. Browne’s absence and clarified that the minister was at Cabinet, reports RTE.
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