Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald clash over new housing targets ahead of election

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Coalition’s new housing targets are too low, Mary Lou McDonald has claimed in a fiery pre-election row with the Taoiseach.

The Sinn Féin leader said the Government has gone “backwards” on housing by delivering fewer homes so far in 2024 when compared to the same period last year.

It comes after Government leaders set new housing targets of 303,000 homes between 2025 and 2030.

The targets, set days before a general election will be called, would see an average of 50,500 homes delivered per year over the period – peaking at approximately 60,000 in 2030.

In a Leaders’ Questions debate with Taoiseach Simon Harris, she added: “Now, as your Government heads for the exit door, your record of failure is clear – people live with it every day.”

Responding to the Sinn Féin leader in a heated exchange marked by pre-election barbs, Mr Harris said housing must be the “number-one priority” for the Government as it remained “the biggest challenge that faces this generation”.

He added that the new targets would effectively mean a doubling of new housing supply over the remainder of the decade.

Ms McDonald told Mr Harris: “Your very great problem is that nobody believes you.”

As the Taoiseach responded, “we’ll see”, the Sinn Féin leader agreed: “We’ll see, alright.”

Mr Harris accused Ms McDonald of arrogance and commented: “Your humility is gone already.”

He questioned Ms McDonald on what issues the banking sector had raised over Sinn Féin’s housing plan: “It’s about a change here. It’s not going to be just about you asking me questions.”

Ms McDonald, whose party had criticised the old targets under Housing for All of about 33,000 homes per annum until 2030, said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil “created the housing crisis in the first place”.

She said the parties had more than a decade to solve the housing deficit but have “only made it worse”.

Ms McDonald said housing prices were “through the roof”, homelessness was at record levels, and that rents were at “rip-off” rates.

She said the Government’s revised targets were 20 per cent lower than what the Housing Commission said was required.

The Fine Gael leader said Ms McDonald had failed to acknowledge the progress made by the coalition, adding: “There are now 500 individuals or couples buying their first home every week. You never seem to meet these people – I meet them regularly.”

The Taoiseach said the Government’s starting figure of 49,000 homes so far this year was “quite extraordinary” and that the allocation for housing in Budget 2025 was the largest ever.

In a subsequent exchange, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said she did want to engage in “cheap political shots” but criticised a “delay” in setting the ramped-up housing targets.

Ms Bacik said the Government’s housing plan throughout the lifetime of the coalition had failed.

Mr Harris said the Government’s old targets were a “fair reflection of what could be delivered when we were having to rebuild a construction sector almost from scratch”.

The Taoiseach said the new targets were in line with figures that had been raised by opposition parties in the house and those in the construction sector.