Micheál Martin: 'Jury is out' on whether State will increase housebuilding this year

Micheál Martin meeting Hilary Clinton in New York on Tuesday. The Tánaiste said the Government hoped to reach 12,000 social homes this year. Picture: The Department of Foreign Affairs

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said “the jury is out” on whether the State will build more houses this year than last year and insisted the Government had “turned a corner” on home building.

Mr Martin, speaking to reporters in New York, also poured cold water on the introduction of pre-budget tax breaks for landlords, saying there cannot be a “knee-jerk” reaction.

His comments come as reports suggested the Coalition was considering pre-budget tax measures for the rental sector following ongoing criticism over the lifting of the eviction ban and fears of an exodus of landlords from the market, further hindering supply.

When put to him that some industry representatives have forecast less homebuilding this year, Mr Martin said that was the position at Christmas but that is “narrowing” and there has been a significant rise in commencements in January. 

He said the Government hoped to reach 12,000 social homes this year and targets have risen.

When challenged on what the State will build and not through acquisitions, Mr Martin said it was legitimate to acquire houses as well as build.

He said “the jury is out” in respect of housing targets for this year and said covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have knocked confidence in the housing market in 2022, but he added that was coming back now.

"We have turned the corner, like in terms of we went from 20,000 to 30,000 in 12 months, now if that's not turning a corner, I don't know what is turning a corner," he said.

He said there were “significant numbers” of people — up to 7,000 in January alone — applying to the Help to Buy Scheme, and more than 2,000 housing commencements in the same month. He said this indicated significant activity in the housing market.

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Mr Martin said the Government had already said there would be a package in respect of the rental sector in the next budget, and that remains its position.

“Because there can't be knee-jerk responses to the situation, because any one particular measure could have unintended consequences. So it's got to be fully fleshed through and the budget is the proper context for doing that,” he said.

Any taxation measures announced in the budget have to be sustainable and long-term to give certainty to the market around supply, he said.

Reacting to Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion to extend the eviction ban until January 2024, he said this would mean lifting the ban days before Christmas this year.

He said the Attorney General’s advice was that if the eviction ban was to remain in place, it should be for two years. He said this would damage the long-term sustainability of the rental market.

“I think Sinn Féin are playing politics with this and how cynical is it that after the criticism I made last week when I mentioned that they were intending to lift the ban days after Christmas Day, they now put in a date of January 2024. 

"I mean, to me, that's a very cynical and dishonest manoeuvre by Sinn Féin and it just illustrates the degree to which they're playing politics with a very serious issue,” Mr Martin said.