Simon Coveney: Housing is our number one priority

With rents at their highest levels nationally since 2008 and claims from Fr Peter McVerry that new Housing Minister Simon Coveney is facing “a homeless and housing crisis which is out of control”, how does the country address a situation which has been worsening for most of the last decade?

Mr Coveney will today hold meetings with charities battling homelessness to get their views — he had similar meetings yesterday.

Tomorrow, Mr Coveney and Taoiseach Enda Kenny will meet with chiefs executive of local authorities to establish how they can contribute to what he sees as a need to build between 30,000 and 35,000 units over the next 10 years, to make up for the lack of house construction over the last decade.