Taoiseach says criticism of his Oval Office housing comments ‘over the top’

By David Young, PA, in Washington, DC

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the opposition’s criticism to his comment on housing in the White House was “over the top”.

During a meeting between Mr Martin and Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the US president was asked about Ireland’s housing crisis.

Mr Trump replied that the housing crisis was because Ireland is “doing so well”.

“They can’t produce houses fast enough. That’s a good problem, not a bad problem,” he added.

Leaning back in his chair and laughing, Mr Martin said: “That’s a very good answer, president.”

Asked about the comments on Thursday, Sinn Fein finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said people had said they “felt insulted by the Taoiseach”.

“It’s not a good look for the Taoiseach to be laughing about a housing crisis when we have record numbers of homelessness, including child homelessness, when we have such a scandal that hasn’t transpired because of the booming economy, it has transpired because the government has deliberately decided not to build houses during much part of the previous decade.”

Mr Martin said on Thursday that during the Oval Office press conference, he was also asked what he would wish for Ireland.

He said: “I equally said in the press conference, very emphatically, when I was asked ‘What was the number one issue or what would I really wish for Ireland’, and I said ‘The number one issue in Ireland is housing, and we need to build as many houses as we can, as quickly as we can, for young people in Ireland to be able to afford to buy or affordable rent’.

“It’s classic (for the) opposition to do that, and I think that was an over the top reaction.”