Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has said that the Housing Commission research on housing need fatally undermined the government housing targets. 

The Dublin Mid-West TD called on the government to publish the research.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“The Housing Commission research on housing need, revealed in the Irish Times today, fatally undermined the government’s housing plan targets. The research suggests that annual housing need ranges from 42,000 new homes a year to 62,000 homes.

“Government housing targets have been widely criticised as inadequate since the publication of their plan in 2021 by opposition, industry and academic experts.

“Sinn Féin argued back in early 2020 that the real need, when pent-up demand for social and affordable housing was taken into account, was at least 40,000 new homes a year.

“Since then, we have had three years of undersupply, significant economic growth and unanticipated population growth due to the war in Ukraine.

“It is clear from the Housing Commission research that government must urgently revise upwards their overall housing targets from this year onwards. They must also adjust their social and affordable housing targets based on an objective assessment of need.

“The current targets are not based on any empirical evidence. They are the outworking of political considerations by government. That is not an acceptable way to deal with housing need. The government’s housing targets are nothing short of politically massaged numbers.

“On foot of the publication of the Housing Commission’s research, the government must give responsibility for verifying and annually reviewing the data to a fully independent group, including the ESRI and Housing Agency. 

“If we are serious about tackling the housing crisis we need an objective and independent assessment of actual need underpinning all aspects of government housing policy.”