Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said the Government is "committed to helping people" and defended the Coalition's response to the housing crisis.
In an interview with RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Mr O’Brien was asked to respond to critics of his style who portray him as a “spoofer” who overly relies on statistics to defend his record.
“Well, I would completely disagree with them, I’m not,” he said.
“I work very hard at the job that I do.
“I’ve always acknowledged that there are many challenges in housing. It’s not something that one can fix overnight. I love the job that I do. I’m committed to it. This government is committed to it too.
“The most important people are those families who don’t have a home at all and they’re the ones who I’m absolutely focused on.”
Mr O’Brien insisted he was always “really straight and honest with people”.
“I’ve always been very direct,” he added. “Some people mightn’t like that style, and that’s fine.
“But I respect constructive criticism, but what I don’t respect is people actually trying to capitalise or use the housing crisis that we have for their own political gain and try to tell people that there are simple solutions to complex issues.
“And most people know that that is not the case. And you know, we won’t be diverted from our course and actually increase in supply for people.”
The Opposition would like a budget every month, he said, which would lead to instability. He added that interest rates were "a real issue" for many people, but said this was something that would be addressed in the next budget.
The Minister said he wanted it to be easier for people to buy their own home. However, he noted this was a big challenge.
He said first-time buyer measures are taking hold, but there are some external measures the Government cannot control which was why the response needs to be flexible.
The situation would continue to be assessed, Mr O'Brien said, adding a City Activation Fund would be announced next week to encourage the construction of more apartments.
He said the Housing for All plan was a "multi-annual plan" which provided certainty, adding is "quite optimistic" that targets would be met this year.
Mr O'Brien said Sinn Féin has opposed "every measure" that has been introduced to help people buy their own homes, adding: "We need more supply and more choice for people."
