Donohoe more concerned with building houses than who takes housing czar role or its salary

Vivienne Clarke

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has defended the establishment of the Housing Activation Office saying it was a good idea and it was one of the ways to increase the number of houses being built.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Mr Donohoe said that the building process needed to be accelerated and that would happen by “better integrating the work that is happening across government, and in particular on the ground, for major projects, looking at what are the blockages for them, particularly when it comes to the provision of infrastructure.”

When asked about the controversy over the role of “housing czar”, the Minister said he was more concerned about ensuring that projects that were ready to go could be delivered.

The government will be discussing today who will take on the role, he said. He believed that the creation of the office was an important ingredient in increasing delivery of homes.

“We will get that right, and the government and both parties in government are united in wanting to make that happen.”

Mr Donohoe denied that trust had been broken between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over who would lead the new unit.

“There’s an excellent working relationship between all the participants in this government. We are united, as I said, in believing that the creation of this office can make a big difference.

“We'll continue to work together to make what I believe will be the right decision, 130,000 new homes have been built in our country over a four-year period. But we know we need to build more. We know the progress that we are making has slowed down, and we have to look at new ideas for accelerating that progress, and I believe this is a worthy one.”

When asked about the reported salary of €430,000 for the role, Mr Donohoe said it was more important to focus on delivering new homes. The decision on who would take up the role would be agreed between the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.

“The salary is undoubtedly a matter the government has to consider when you're making an appointment to any role. But it's all about a means to an end," he said.

We are so conscious that more homes need to be built, we're so conscious of all the change that is taking place around the world and around our economy and in the midst of all that we need to meet a keen need of our society. And for me, not only am I willing to make the case for this office being part of how we deal with the issue.

"I'm willing to make the case for the person who's leading that office when the government makes the decision, which we're working on doing at the moment.”

Mr Donohoe said he was not “making the case” for any candidate as the decision would be made by the party leaders.

“I'm conscious of the needs for these things to be done right and respect all individuals who are involved in this."