Sinn Féin has branded the still-unpublished Government housing plan a “shambles”, accusing Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien of a last-minute scramble for policy ideas.
Eoin O Broin, the party's housing spokesman, said Fianna Fáil would not have the Taoiseach's chair by the time the Housing for All policy was in place, and criticised a series of recent media leaks outlining policy ideas under consideration as part of the plan.
He particularly criticised the suggestion that €500 million be set aside in payments to private housing developers to bridge the gap between the cost of development and affordable purchase prices, or that older people be given tax breaks to trade down into smaller homes.
“We still don’t have sight of the Government’s housing plan, in fact, we don’t have sight of Darragh O’Brien, he seems to have gone Awol over the last couple of weeks.”
Mr O Broin said the Government’s Housing for All plan was a “shambles” and criticised Mr O’Brien for not having his “homework” done while he was in opposition. He said it would be up to 12 months after publication of the plan before it was up and running, at which point Fianna Fáil’s slot with the rotating Taoiseach position would be close to expiring.
He criticised a media appearance this morning by Fianna Fáil housing spokeswoman Senator Mary Fitzpatrick. He said she had suggested the tax break idea emanated from the Department of Finance, rather than the Fianna Fáil-controlled Department of Housing.
“It just adds fuel to the fire that this Government doesn’t have its plan finalised, doesn’t know what it’s doing, and is scrambling at the last minute to pull together as many initiatives as possible to make itself look good without tackling the core of this crisis.”
Housing policy
The Dublin Mid-West TD said that the Sinn Féin housing policy was ready to be put in place.
“If there’s a General Election tomorrow and if we end up leading the Government, I have a plan almost ready to go,” he said, which he and his team had spent the last five years working on. “It is astounding that Darragh O’Brien didn’t use his time in opposition… to do that homework. I just don’t understand how anybody feels that acceptable.”
“I have to say I think the thing is a shambles,” he said.
Mr O’Brien’s spokeswoman dismissed Mr Ó Broin’s claims on Tuesday night, saying Housing for All will be launched shortly. “The plan will set out a pathway to the sustainable supply we need at a price people can afford, with appropriate housing options for the most vulnerable, including social housing, cost rental, affordable purchase and private supply. The plan will contain annual targets and detail the steps that will be taken to deliver the new homes we need annually.”
The Minister’s spokeswoman added: “The Sinn Féin housing ‘plan’ involves building 20,000 homes without any idea where they will be built, by whom or how long it is going to take. The home ownership scheme published by Sinn Féin excludes couples earning the average industrial wage and at the end of it, anyone availing of the scheme does not actually own his or her home. Sinn Féin have opposed new housing developments and continue to criticise.”
‘Unfortunate’
Earlier Mr O Broin also said recent comments by Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan around people sleeping in tents in the capital were "very unfortunate". He said they were regrettable, and that he should withdraw then.
Mr O Broin said those attempting to stay off drugs could not go into emergency accommodation where they would share rooms with drug users could not go into such settings, which often were challenging for those who had had a negative experience in there before.
“There is nobody who chooses to sleep rough or in a tent, people feel like they have no choice,” he said. Mr Keegan and the Government should “improve the quality and the dignity with which people live in emergency accommodation.”
“If you do that, you won’t have people sleeping rough or in tents.”
Sinn Féin spokesman on addiction, recovery and wellbeing Thomas Gould said that more than 3,400 young people in the State have problems with gambling, according to Europe-level research. He said 23 per cent of boys and seven per cent of girls have gambled in the last 12 months.
Mr Gould was launching the party’s policy document outlining proposals to tackle gambling addiction.
He said it was frightening and unbelievable that there was a lack of regulation of the gambling industry, and education around the risks, saying the responsibility for the sector should be organised under the Department of Health, rather than the Department of Justice.
He called for a ban to be introduced on gambling funded by credit cards, and that the party would introduce legislation to this end in the autumn.
"How should people be allowed to gamble with money they don't have?", he asked. Pointing to a levy introduced on gambling companies in New Zealand for education and health projects related to gambling addition, he said: "For far too long, people suffering with gambling problems and gambling addiction have been failed by the Government."
He welcomed Government plans to bring forward legislation and a gambling regulator by the end of the year, but said such plans had been launched before. He said some apps were being designed not to look like gambling apps so as to be more attractive to young people.
