The ieBusiness Podcast meets property developer Michael O'Flynn

“We should be at 60,000 units plus, but we’re down at the 30,000s, plus or minus. We have a problem that is spiralling out of control.”

ieBusiness podcast Michael O'Flynn

In the first edition of the third season of the ieBusiness podcast, in association with PwC, property developer Michael O'Flynn shares his views on the current housing crisis and efforts to meet targets. 

Since his company’s founding in 1978, Mr O’Flynn of the Cork-based O’Flynn Group has become a key policy figure in Ireland’s construction sector.

With more than 15,000 new homes delivered across its lifespan, the O’Flynn Group has evolved to become one of the largest property development firms in the State, with the group also operating across the UK and parts of Europe.

Speaking with the Irish Examiner's Emer Walsh, he recounts his time as a member of the Government’s Housing Commission, the mammoth report published by the commission which he says was largely dismissed by the Government, and the story of the Old Fort Road development in Ballincollig, plans for which were allowed for by the European Court of Justice, only to be later refused by An Bord Pleanála.

Michael voices his thoughts on the Government’s new Housing Activation Office, whether or not the new unit is necessary, and the subsequent housing ‘tsar’ controversy, which caused tension between the coalition earlier this year.