Fianna Fáil accuse Coalition of ‘telling lies’ on housing record

The party also questioned the Central Bank Governor’s hesitancy to tackle banks continuing to charge borrowers high variable rates on their mortgages and said he was “not the oracle”.

Launching their proposals to help increase home ownership as well as tackle homelessness, Environment spokesman Barry Cowen accused the Fine Gael-Labour coalition of “massaging figures” over housing.

It was factually incorrect that the government had given out the keys for 13,000 housing units last year when they had only built 300 new units, he told a press conference in Dublin.

Mr Cowen went as far as saying that Environment Minister Alan Kelly and other ministers making the claim were “telling lies”.

The party is proposing that the next Government appoint a senior minister to oversee housing.

Seanad party leader Darragh O’Brien also questioned a refusal by the Central Bank governor Philip Lane to interfere with mortgage rates being charged by banks.

The Dublin North candidate said that Mr Lane was “not the oracle” and there was a way to coerce banks to cooperate in reducing their variable rate mortgages for borrowers.

Meanwhile, speaking in Fermoy Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin has further accused Alan Kelly of trying to pull a fast one on taxpayers by introducing a payment for using green bins.

Mr Martin said Minister Kelly tried to “slip” in the charge, just before the General Election was called, thinking nobody would notice.

“We're very surprised that he brought it in just before the General Election,” said Martin.

“I don’t know was he trying to slip it in without anyone knowing about it in advance of the election, but what we are picking up on the doorstep is people are kind of fed up of charge, after charge, after charge. I think in the last four years there’s been about 45 new taxes and charges.

“I think people feel the brunt of that on their take home pay and I think people have had enough of that.”