‘It was about semantics and not actions’: Kildare TDs respond to scathing criticism from Sinn Féin politician

Two North Kildare TDs have responded to criticism from a fellow TD aligned with Sinn Féin (SF).

Réada Cronin said that Bernard Durkan TD, of Fine Gael, and James Lawless TD, of Fianna Fáil, voting against a Dáil motion to declare a housing emergency, shows that 'the government is out of touch and in deep denial.'

In the Dáil on Wednesday last, all government TDs voted down SF's motion to declare a housing emergency.

Speaking on the vote, Deputy Cronin said: "We’re already at a housing emergency and in fact beyond it. The refusal of government TDs to put party politics aside and put people first shows they are totally out of touch with how people in North Kildare are living, when even those with good jobs and mortgage approval can’t find an affordable place to buy.

"As for renting? The market is a basket case. People see the housing emergency with their own eyes."

She continued: "Their vote is inexplicable given the scale and depth of the housing emergency that actually exists. It shows how deeply in denial they are.

"They need to explain why they believe there is no housing emergency here or across the state when in North Kildare so many people are actually at the end of their tether."

She further claimed that her office is 'out the door with people being savaged by this housing emergency.'

Deputy Cronin also referred to the latest Daft rent report, adding: "They (the government) are out of reach of ordinary workers and people are being priced out of the market here. But then, rents, house prices, homelessness and insecurity are all at record highs on this government’s watch.

"The government’s targets on housing are miserable, yet they are on track to miss them.

"We have just found a shocking housing underspend of almost half a billion euro this year, as they continue to fail to deliver the large scale social and affordable projects that people in North Kildare desperately need.

She urged Housing Minister Darragh O' Brien to take emergency action to tackle runaway rents: "This means a three-year ban on rent increases. It means a properly designed refundable tax credit to put a month's rent back into every private renter's pocket.

"It also means increasing and accelerating the delivery of genuinely affordable cost rental homes.

"People  here in North Kildare hit by the housing crisis can’t keep waiting for government TDs to get their act together.

"Sinn Féin in government would deliver genuinely affordable homes to end the housing crisis," she concluded.

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RESPONSE

Commenting on Deputy Cronin's views, Mr Durkan said: "The housing crisis we are experiencing is a most serious issue which affects almost every family in the country and every effort continues to be made to deal with the situation.

"The declaration of an emergency will do nothing to help the provision of extra houses. What is needed most is to concentrate on what is working and to this end, the number of building sites throughout County Kildare and countrywide attests to that.

He added: "Having come through the almost impossible challenges of the financial crash and several Covid-19 lockdowns, and despite the ongoing impact of the Ukrainian war, we are at last beginning to see the first signs of the delivery of houses.

"Though not at the scale required yet, there are several indicators that we are at last on the right course to making a home achievable for those who need one."

'A PLAN FOR THE NEXT DECADE'

Mr Lawless also said that his party 'welcomed the debate', and stressed that he 'fully supported' the Minister O' Brien's counter-motion in reply to SF's Dáil motion.

He said: "It (the Sinn Fein motion) was about semantics and not actions. Housing for All is a plan for the next decade.

"The government counter motion that I voted for stated that Housing for All is working. Supply, which is key to improving our housing market, is increasing.

"To the end of September, over 55,000 homes were either commenced (27,417) or completed (27,773). The number of completions in the first three quarters of 2022 was greater than the total for 2021 or any full year since the CSO completions series began.

"A record €4.5 billion in State housing investment will be made available in 2023 — this will deliver the largest state home building programme ever with 9,100 direct build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes.

"€1.3 billion will be spent on affordability measures, supporting homeownership in 2023.

Deputy Lawless also said that the government is also implementing actions to increase capacity, innovation and productivity in the construction sector.

He said: "The number of construction sector workers is increasing. It is also taking long-term reforms of the housing and planning systems.

"The Housing for All plan is focused on tackling supply and affordability issues in the rental market. The government has strengthened renters’ rights and controls on rent increases.

He added: "In Budget 2023, the government is making a €500 credit available to every renter."

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