Collins slams Government housing tzar plan
"There is already a whole department fully staffed and led by a Cabinet Minister"
Failure to address issues in infrastructure, planning and immigration resulting in a Government that is swimming against the tide.
Michael Collins, Leader of Independent Ireland and TD for Cork South West has described Government plans to appoint a so-called “housing tzar” as “shortsighted nonsense dreamt up in desperation”, calling it a slap in the face to taxpayers and an admission of failure by ministers who are already paid handsomely to do the job.
The West Cork TD said that while one high-profile name has now withdrawn from the proposed role, the Taoiseach remains “bizarrely insistent” on appointing someone to a position that should not even exist.
“This is madness. There is a whole department of government—fully staffed and led by a Cabinet minister—charged with solving the housing crisis. Instead of doing the job they are paid to do, they want to outsource the problem to a former NAMA figure on a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary. The public will not stand for it,” he said.
Collins said the current Government has repeatedly ignored clear, practical advice from Independent Ireland TDs who are dealing daily with the consequences of a broken system.
“We’ve told them again and again what needs to happen: fix the infrastructure bottlenecks in water supply and wastewater, sort out the sewerage systems, and simplify the planning laws. That is how you create a functioning housing pipeline. Not by throwing hundreds of thousands of euro at another bureaucratic layer.”
The Independent Ireland Leader also said the Government was in denial over the effect of continued, unmanaged population growth on housing availability.
“Whether they like to admit it or not, the fact is that our housing capacity is being overwhelmed. Thousands are still arriving here—some legally, and a huge number illegally—and this is directly fuelling demand. Unless the Government starts enforcing immigration law properly, we are only throwing more pressure on a system that’s already bursting at the seams.”
Referencing recent Government briefings which claimed that 39 people had been deported to Georgia, Collins said: “That’s a drop in the ocean. It’s PR spin, not policy.”
“The Irish people are not fools. They see the planning delays, the infrastructure failures, the packed hotels, They don’t want a housing tzar. They want ministers to do the job they’re paid to do. Enough of the gimmicks—get on with it.”
