Budget 'will provide clarity' in rental market, insists Martin

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Government is "disappointed and very concerned" about the record homeless figures, but defended ending the eviction ban.

MEP Billy Kelleher; Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Finance Minister Michael McGrath at the sod-turning ceremony in Ballyvolane, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

A critical mass on house construction is developing, the Tánaiste insisted on Friday, even as homeless figures hit a record high.

Micheál Martin was speaking in Cork as he turned the sod with finance minister Michael McGrath on a €9m investment by the Housing Infrastructure Services Company (HISCo) in the construction of infrastructure to help deliver more than 750 homes on a vast greenfield site in Ballyvolane, 4km from Cork City — one of the largest strategic housing developments (SHD) in the state.