People Before Profit response to Minister O’Brien’s “stunt” housing motion comments

People Before Profit say they “wish to refute” the comments of Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, made on Morning Ireland today, that the People Before Profit motion of no confidence is a “stunt” and that PBP have not put forward any positive proposals on housing.

In response to the Minister’s comments, the party said in a statement:

“This is clearly not true and a poor attempt by the Minister to deflect from the chronic failings by his government on housing and homelessness.

“People Before Profit has proposed many bills and motions to deal with different aspects of the housing and homelessness crisis, which the government routinely dismiss out of hand.

“For example, People Before Profit brought forward bills to reduce rents, a bill to ban no fault evictions, and a motion to extend the Covid evictions ban, amendments to the affordable housing bill to make affordable housing actually affordable, to name but a few.

“We have brought this motion forward because we do not have confidence in this government to deliver the radical change in housing policy that is needed to fix the housing and homelessness crisis.

“It is also very ironic for the Minister to claim that we are not putting forward positive proposals when the government are now moving to prevent People Before Profit’s motion being taken at all, thus preventing us from tabling the proposals that are contained in our motion.

“Our motion specifically points to a series of proposals for action on rent controls, preventing evictions, vacant properties, and delivering public housing, which the government have refused to adopt.”

Reacting to the Ministers comments, Richard Boyd Barrett TD said:

“The Minister’s suggestion on Morning Ireland that People Before Profit is not putting forward positive proposals on the housing crisis is nonsense.

“It is a poor attempt by the Minister to detract from the chronic failures of his government to deal with the housing and homelessness crisis.

“Our motion has a list of measures that the Minister and his government has refused to adopt.

“Even a cursory look at the figures on homelessness, housing commencements, and the price of rent and house prices show clearly that this government has failed to deal with this crisis. “Things are getting worse.

“It is for these reasons that we have put down this motion.

“Our motion is designed precisely to force this government to adopt very specific measures which the Minister is refusing to take which could have an immediate impact on the dire housing crisis.”