Tóibín slams plan for housing czar as ‘mudguard for Ministers’

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has criticised the government’s plan to appoint a high-paid housing czar, claiming the new role is a way for Ministers to avoid direct responsibility for Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis.

The Meath West TD criticised the government’s approach during remarks made today, saying the creation of a new, high-paying role to oversee housing delivery is an effort by Ministers to avoid taking responsibility for the “failures of their own policy”.

“Ministers are desperate to put more and more distance between them and real accountability on key issues like the housing crisis,” he said.

“The proposal to appoint a housing czar with an outrageous salary is yet another role that puts distance between Ministers who are terrified of being held responsible.”

Deputy Tóibín pointed to the existing structures already in place within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

“We already have no less than 20 senior managers overseeing housing, overseen by a Minister who has a full complement of private office staff,” he said, noting the existence of multiple agencies such as the Housing Agency, Housing Finance Agency, Land Development Agency, Residential Tenancies Board, Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority and Local Authorities.

“Now, the government want to appoint the former head of NAMA to ‘oversee housing delivery’. That role is frankly the role of the Minister for Housing,” he said.

He called for the Minister to take a more hands-on approach and to be directly responsible for what is happening in the housing sector.

“We need a Minister who has the technical skills to do the job,” Tóibín said.

He added that the government’s continued use of public funds to create new offices and roles is undermining trust and delaying real progress.

“The amount of public money now being used to muddy the waters as to who is ultimately responsible for the shameful lack of homes being built in this country is despicable.

“If the government spent less time on new offices and roles to protect themselves from criticism, they might actually build homes for those families who have been waiting for years for a secure roof over their head,” he said.