O'Brien on shaky ground as Varadkar goes back to drawing board on housing targets

It was a clear signal to many that the State’s Housing for All plan was failing

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking at Government Buildings in Dublin, following a conference with housing stakeholders. Picture: PA

There's no doubt that it was not his intention but Taoiseach Leo Varadkar managed to undermine the Government’s own plan to tackle the housing crisis and the man with the responsibility of overseeing it.

The awkwardness and tension between Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and Mr Varadkar were very much felt among political reporters in the Italian room in Government Buildings during a press conference following their listening exercise with housing stakeholders including charities, developers, and approved housing bodies.

The meeting on Tuesday morning was set up to hear suggestions on how to accelerate the building of homes and tackle the homelessness crisis.

It was a clear signal to many, including opposition TDs, that the State’s Housing for All plan, the blueprint to tackle the disaster, was failing.

That combined with a new record of over 11,500 homeless people in Ireland.

The press conference was led by the Taoiseach, which is not unusual but it was noted that Mr O’Brien did not provide any introductory remarks which would normally be the case.

Having insisted time after time that his plan would be a success and dismissing criticism that its building targets were too low, Mr O’Brien’s defence fell apart as Mr Varadkar said it would make sense to revise the Government’s housing targets given the rise in population, including the arrival of 70,000 Ukrainians, many who will remain in Ireland after the war.

Mr O’Brien has repeatedly downplayed that the housing targets were underestimated when put to him that his plan was based on 2016 data.

Stepping on toes

It’s clear Varadkar has felt for some time that the State’s plan to tackle the housing crisis could be strengthened and in the weeks before becoming Taoiseach again, he made it clear he would be stepping on Mr O’Brien’s toes as he defended Fine Gael's plans to develop its own proposals to tackle the issue.

It was evident by Mr O’Brien’s body language and demeanor at Tuesday’s press conference that he was frustrated with what appeared to be Mr Varadkar's attempt to control the next phase of the State's response to housing.

That being said, the Fine Gael leader’s own record on addressing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing and supply while in government prior to this Coalition has not been a success story.

But he blamed the lack of available funding in previous years as a result of the financial crash, for contributing to why the State is now so far behind in having sufficient stock to house its citizens.

This is despite his colleague and then housing minister Simon Coveney vowing back in 2017 that all homeless families would be out of hotel accommodation by July of that year.

Taking charge

The housing conference held on Tuesday has been described as a PR stunt by opposition TDs who say Mr Varadkar took the opportunity to attempt to portray he was taking charge and making housing a priority.

It’s also not the first forum of its kind to be held — with former housing minister and Labour TD Alan Kelly doing something similar in 2014. So nine years on, hundreds of meetings later with homelessness charities, and numerous fresh plans printed and launched, the only change that has occurred is the crisis worsening.

Holding such a meeting indicated there was a need to go back to the drawing board and get new ideas on how to deal with the housing crisis.

When asked why he felt the need to look for more suggestions, Mr Varadkar said because it was a new year, he was back as Taoiseach, and to “delve deeper” into housing.

Only time will tell whether the latest housing conference was a publicity stunt or whether proposals offered up by those at the coalface will be introduced.