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THERE WERE TENSE exchanges in the Dáil yesterday as opposition TDs grilled Taoiseach Micheál Martin about plans to create a new ‘housing tsar’. But why has the idea been so ferociously criticised?
After a two-week Easter break, the Dáil reconvened yesterday as TDs took part in Leaders’ Questions.
Minister for Housing James Browne yesterday announced the creation of a new ‘Housing Activation Office’ to operate within the Department of Housing.
The new office will comprise a dedicated “expert” team, with many of them seconded into their new roles, Browne said. The team will be tasked with expediting the delivery of new housing in line with government targets by addressing infrastructural obstacles and ensuring appropriate funding is made available where needed.
He said the creation of the new office will allow for “streamlined, on the ground reporting” on the progression of building works on sites around the country to allow for corrective action to be taken to speed up delivery and cut through any red-tape.
The office will be supported by the Housing Activation Delivery Group – chaired by the minister – and will consist of senior officials from key government departments as well as infrastructure agencies, housing delivery agencies and the public sector.
Well, this is where the faultline has emerged between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
It is understood that the name of Brendan McDonagh, chief executive of the National Asset Management Agency, was to go to Cabinet yesterday for approval.
However, it is believed his name was not mentioned at yesterday’s meeting.
The idea of a housing tsar isn’t a new one.
It was first floated back in 2017 when Eoghan Murphy was housing minister and he was urged to create a new office to coordinate the activities of state agencies, but it was never signed off on.
The naming of McDonagh has caused tensions between the coalition partners with a spokesperson for the Tánaiste stating yesterday that it is Harris’ view that appointments of this scale, given the importance of this office, should be discussed by the leaders in advance of any name being made public.
The housing minister said on radio yesterday that McDonagh is his preferred candidate.
However, asked about the appointment in Leaders’ Questions today, Martin repeated that “no decision has been made” as to who will take up the role.
He added that it is not unusual for civil servants, such as those in the NTMA, to be seconded into other positions. A final decision on who will get the job will be made at the Cabinet subcommittee on housing tomorrow.
The creation of the role has been met with consternation across opposition parties.
It has been described as “double-jobbing” by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who says the existence of such a title raises questions around the Taoiseach’s trust in his own Cabinet.
“You have a full-Cabinet minister for housing, why is it that you have so little confidence?” she said.
Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Rory Hearne has written to Browne to express his disapproval at the appointment of McDonagh as tsar.
The Taoiseach said the salary of the tsar appointee would be awarded at “no additional” cost, due to the fact they would be arriving in from a public service position.
McDonagh would therefore simply retain his existing €430,000 Nama salary, along with its benefits, if he takes up the new role.
However, McDonald said the government was “spinning, bluffing and taking people for fools,” while Hearne slammed the pay for the new “gold-plated position” as “outrageous” at a time when the introduction of a living wage is being postponed.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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