Simon Harris takes swipe at Fianna Fáil's 'economic mismanagement' 

Responding to question about Eurostat report showing 68% of Irish adults aged between 25 and 29 were still living at home last year

Simon Harris said the State is now at a point where there are thousands of first-time buyers and voters who will look at political parties' records.

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has been backed by his fellow Fine Gael members after taking a swipe at Fianna Fáil for the “economic mismanagement” of the country which led to a lack of homebuilding.

His comments have been viewed as taking aim at his Coalition colleagues as Fine Gael works to differentiate itself from Micheál Martin’s party ahead of the next general election.

Mr Harris was responding to a question about a new Eurostat report which revealed that 68% of Irish adults aged between 25 and 29 were still living at home last year. That compares to an EU average of 42%.

When asked if the findings are a sad indictment of Fine Gael, who have been in government for a decade, Mr Harris said the challenge that the Government had to face following the recession was massive.

Although he did not name Fianna Fáil, he said it takes “many years to fix, to repair those deep scars from the economic crash and economic mismanagement of this country".

He went on to say the State is now at a point where there are thousands of first-time buyers and voters who will look at political parties' records.

He said: “I remember when I was first elected to Dáil Eireann and sitting in my constituency office in Bray and I remember conversations around massive mortgage arrears.

I remember conversations about whether people would be able to keep a roof over their heads. I remember programmes about ghost estates.

Mr Harris said he recalls the "entire construction industry collapsing" with tradespeople emigrating or diversifying into other areas.

When asked about his comments, one Fine Gael TD said Tánaiste Micheál Martin had done a “great job in softening Fianna Fáil’s image significantly” but people need to remember that “Fianna Fáil destroyed the country and Fine Gael resuscitated it".

One senior TD said: “We need to show how different the parties are, particularly a focus on economic policies ahead of the next general election.” 

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“It’s time to mark our territory in the months ahead and to put a Fine Gael stamp on the budget and be able to present this to the electorate,” a third source said.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said any economy or society that goes through a financial crisis finds itself in a position for a long period not being able to invest in things that any society needs, like building homes.

He said Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and the Government want to build more than 30,000 homes every year and are aware of the concern that many young adults are stuck living at home and cannot buy a house.