Eoin Ó Broin is, according to current polling, the country’s preferred choice as housing minister — and the success of any Sinn Féin government is likely to hinge on whether the Blackrock College-educated TD for Dublin Mid-West can solve what often seems an intractable housing and homelessness crisis.
He is convinced he can do it and says Sinn Féin will “in absolute crystal clear clarity” outline how in advance of the next election, with existing policies likely to be revised and republished this year.
He is reluctant to offer too many hostages to fortune, learning perhaps from the experience of the last three housing ministers he has shadowed that much can and does go awry. Indeed, he says that if something does go wrong and his plan doesn’t deliver, Sinn Féin will change tack.
“We’ll be upfront. We’ll be honest with people and we’ll demonstrate that we’re then going to intervene to move things in a different direction,” he says.
But being in opposition means you can still make a lofty pledge or two. For example, Ó Broin thinks he can, like in Finland, effectively end long-term homelessness within five years of taking office.
“You can’t stop people becoming homeless, what you can do is you can ensure that nobody is homeless longer than a crisis; a crisis should only be a number of weeks,” he says.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent , Ó Broin says he believes he meets more people involved in the housing sector than anybody else bar current Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, whose job he covets. “I spend lots of time on building sites and in architects studios, in local authorities, in with policy experts,” he says.
Over the last six years as Sinn Féin housing spokesperson he has firmly established himself as the foremost opposition critic of Government housing policy and, as his supporters like to note, he has even written the book on it, his 2019 volume called Home: Why Public Housing is the Answer.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald recently proclaimed Sinn Féin will “move heaven and earth” to fix the housing crisis. In a rather unconvincing manner on The Late Late Show last month, she said: “We’re Irish, Ryan, we build things.” She is happy to defer to Ó Broin, the man she calls “brainiac”, on the details of how both heaven and earth will be shifted.
Ó Broin relishes the opportunity to tell anyone who will listen why the Government is wrong and his policies are better.
Take, for example, the Coalition’s claim it is investing a record amount of state money into housing. “The €4bn figure isn’t a true figure, the €4bn is a 10-year average and they are not going to reach that €4bn under current projections until this government is out of office if it runs its full term,” he says, arguing that direct capital investment by the State is more likely between €2bn and €2.5bn a year — a figure he commits to doubling if in government.
The Economic and Social Research Institute ( ESRI) effectively agreed with him in an economic assessment published in 2021.
In the never-ending housing debate it is easy to get sidetracked by big numbers, a plethora of schemes and targets. But one eye-catching figure — raised in McDonald’s Late Late Show outing — is Sinn Féin’s general election manifesto pledge to deliver 100,000 social and affordable homes in a full five-year term of government. How can it be done?
Ó Broin is one the major reasons SF are so high in the polls, he’s an extremely impressive speaker. It’ll be interesting to see him walk the walk.
He says SF will move heaven and earth to solve the housing crisis, that shift in attitude will alone be a breath of fresh air. We’ve had too long a neo liberial deregulation non interventionist government housing policy. Its time for the state to step in.
Even though I vote for them, I’m not the biggest fan of SF, but have been very impressed by EOB (and some of the newer generation like Mairead Farrell, Mark Ward, Kathleen Function etc).
The mix of radicalism and competence (presumed until tested of course) is something the left here and elsewhere has been missing in recent generations.
Reminds me in some ways of John McDonnell. Not too hung up on Corbyn like a lot of others, yeah there was a massive establishment campaign against him but he was also an absolutely awful politician with terrible political instincts, but it’s a real shame (for the brits and everyone else) McDonnell didn’t get a chance to govern in the UK.
It would be nice to have a housing minister who isnt denying we are in a housing crisis.
The problem with all these policies from SF is they are taking about changing the mix of ownership, but I see very little from them on how they are going to solve the supply issue.
The State buying properties for HAP renters just means a massive loss of supply for people trying to buy their own homes. It also means less and less privately rented properties available, so that leads to another problem. Private buyers in new estates are already suffering from competing with various Government funded buyers, that will only get worse (although perhaps SF couldn’t care less).
Building more on state land is all very well, but where do the builders come from?
I’d much rather we had a conversation about minimum apartment standards, building lots of apartments for all types of buyers in the city centre, and getting away from wasteful use of space in urban areas.
I plan to win the lotto, but…
Taxes on landlords and tenant rights need to be readjusted imo. There was such a wild swing in power over the last few years. Lowering tax just a touch will eliminate alot of tenant problems.
So SF are going to solve the housing crisis, eradicate homelessness and crush private landlords. All this while objecting to any and all attempts to develop Dublin into a modern city because property developers are evil and a famous deceased republican once walked his dog there.
I think it’s time to give SF a go at being in government. I am finally ready for them to have a shot.
(Because I’m emigrating in January)
An eclectic fashion style
A socialist tintin
Finland’s population grew 180k from 2010 to 2021. Ireland grew nearly 470k. Yet their homeless level is still half Irelands despite experiencing nowhere near the same level of immigration. Frankly the Finns should be coming to Ireland for advice. This is the problem with half truths being shared as facts. The Finns have nowhere near solved homelessness despite having much easier circumstances.
Our housing stick is worth about 680 billion. At current building rates you are talking about 40 billion to achieve this. Of course the hard issue is the lack of housebuilding capacity so perhaps we could deliver half this amount as building inflation goes through the roof. Most people I ask have no idea what these big figures look like and seem to think houses cost 50c to build.
O’Broin and his supporters are going to drive the country off a cliff again. But I suppose it’s been a while since the electorate voted to crash the economy despite being warned 🤷♂️
If I’m struggling financially, trying to afford rent or can’t buy a decent home despite working full time and saving for years.When it’s my time to vote and I can choose between.
1) Someone who will over promise and probably under deliver
2) someone who says my problems are overstated. My experiences and those of my peers don’t reflect what is actually happening in the country.
Yeah I’m going with option 1.
O’Broin and Sinn Féin will solve the housing crisis if they get into government. There will be such an exodus of people from the country through a collapsed economy that the supply and demand balance will tip in favour of supply. Problem solved.
We’re fucked no matter who’s in government at this stage
From his holiday home ?
Someone tell Harry Potter there’s no magic wand fir this situation
18 comments
Eoin Ó Broin is, according to current polling, the country’s preferred choice as housing minister — and the success of any Sinn Féin government is likely to hinge on whether the Blackrock College-educated TD for Dublin Mid-West can solve what often seems an intractable housing and homelessness crisis.
He is convinced he can do it and says Sinn Féin will “in absolute crystal clear clarity” outline how in advance of the next election, with existing policies likely to be revised and republished this year.
He is reluctant to offer too many hostages to fortune, learning perhaps from the experience of the last three housing ministers he has shadowed that much can and does go awry. Indeed, he says that if something does go wrong and his plan doesn’t deliver, Sinn Féin will change tack.
“We’ll be upfront. We’ll be honest with people and we’ll demonstrate that we’re then going to intervene to move things in a different direction,” he says.
But being in opposition means you can still make a lofty pledge or two. For example, Ó Broin thinks he can, like in Finland, effectively end long-term homelessness within five years of taking office.
“You can’t stop people becoming homeless, what you can do is you can ensure that nobody is homeless longer than a crisis; a crisis should only be a number of weeks,” he says.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent , Ó Broin says he believes he meets more people involved in the housing sector than anybody else bar current Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, whose job he covets. “I spend lots of time on building sites and in architects studios, in local authorities, in with policy experts,” he says.
Over the last six years as Sinn Féin housing spokesperson he has firmly established himself as the foremost opposition critic of Government housing policy and, as his supporters like to note, he has even written the book on it, his 2019 volume called Home: Why Public Housing is the Answer.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald recently proclaimed Sinn Féin will “move heaven and earth” to fix the housing crisis. In a rather unconvincing manner on The Late Late Show last month, she said: “We’re Irish, Ryan, we build things.” She is happy to defer to Ó Broin, the man she calls “brainiac”, on the details of how both heaven and earth will be shifted.
Ó Broin relishes the opportunity to tell anyone who will listen why the Government is wrong and his policies are better.
Take, for example, the Coalition’s claim it is investing a record amount of state money into housing. “The €4bn figure isn’t a true figure, the €4bn is a 10-year average and they are not going to reach that €4bn under current projections until this government is out of office if it runs its full term,” he says, arguing that direct capital investment by the State is more likely between €2bn and €2.5bn a year — a figure he commits to doubling if in government.
The Economic and Social Research Institute ( ESRI) effectively agreed with him in an economic assessment published in 2021.
In the never-ending housing debate it is easy to get sidetracked by big numbers, a plethora of schemes and targets. But one eye-catching figure — raised in McDonald’s Late Late Show outing — is Sinn Féin’s general election manifesto pledge to deliver 100,000 social and affordable homes in a full five-year term of government. How can it be done?
Ó Broin is one the major reasons SF are so high in the polls, he’s an extremely impressive speaker. It’ll be interesting to see him walk the walk.
He says SF will move heaven and earth to solve the housing crisis, that shift in attitude will alone be a breath of fresh air. We’ve had too long a neo liberial deregulation non interventionist government housing policy. Its time for the state to step in.
Even though I vote for them, I’m not the biggest fan of SF, but have been very impressed by EOB (and some of the newer generation like Mairead Farrell, Mark Ward, Kathleen Function etc).
The mix of radicalism and competence (presumed until tested of course) is something the left here and elsewhere has been missing in recent generations.
Reminds me in some ways of John McDonnell. Not too hung up on Corbyn like a lot of others, yeah there was a massive establishment campaign against him but he was also an absolutely awful politician with terrible political instincts, but it’s a real shame (for the brits and everyone else) McDonnell didn’t get a chance to govern in the UK.
It would be nice to have a housing minister who isnt denying we are in a housing crisis.
The problem with all these policies from SF is they are taking about changing the mix of ownership, but I see very little from them on how they are going to solve the supply issue.
The State buying properties for HAP renters just means a massive loss of supply for people trying to buy their own homes. It also means less and less privately rented properties available, so that leads to another problem. Private buyers in new estates are already suffering from competing with various Government funded buyers, that will only get worse (although perhaps SF couldn’t care less).
Building more on state land is all very well, but where do the builders come from?
I’d much rather we had a conversation about minimum apartment standards, building lots of apartments for all types of buyers in the city centre, and getting away from wasteful use of space in urban areas.
I plan to win the lotto, but…
Taxes on landlords and tenant rights need to be readjusted imo. There was such a wild swing in power over the last few years. Lowering tax just a touch will eliminate alot of tenant problems.
So SF are going to solve the housing crisis, eradicate homelessness and crush private landlords. All this while objecting to any and all attempts to develop Dublin into a modern city because property developers are evil and a famous deceased republican once walked his dog there.
I think it’s time to give SF a go at being in government. I am finally ready for them to have a shot.
(Because I’m emigrating in January)
An eclectic fashion style
A socialist tintin
Finland’s population grew 180k from 2010 to 2021. Ireland grew nearly 470k. Yet their homeless level is still half Irelands despite experiencing nowhere near the same level of immigration. Frankly the Finns should be coming to Ireland for advice. This is the problem with half truths being shared as facts. The Finns have nowhere near solved homelessness despite having much easier circumstances.
Our housing stick is worth about 680 billion. At current building rates you are talking about 40 billion to achieve this. Of course the hard issue is the lack of housebuilding capacity so perhaps we could deliver half this amount as building inflation goes through the roof. Most people I ask have no idea what these big figures look like and seem to think houses cost 50c to build.
O’Broin and his supporters are going to drive the country off a cliff again. But I suppose it’s been a while since the electorate voted to crash the economy despite being warned 🤷♂️
If I’m struggling financially, trying to afford rent or can’t buy a decent home despite working full time and saving for years.When it’s my time to vote and I can choose between.
1) Someone who will over promise and probably under deliver
2) someone who says my problems are overstated. My experiences and those of my peers don’t reflect what is actually happening in the country.
Yeah I’m going with option 1.
O’Broin and Sinn Féin will solve the housing crisis if they get into government. There will be such an exodus of people from the country through a collapsed economy that the supply and demand balance will tip in favour of supply. Problem solved.
We’re fucked no matter who’s in government at this stage
From his holiday home ?
Someone tell Harry Potter there’s no magic wand fir this situation
How did he get the housing department on side?