Taoiseach says a housing czar will be appointed 'imminently' as he discusses housing policy

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that the government intends to appoint a so-called ‘Housing Czar’ imminently to oversee housing policy.

Martin said that the government is in the process of setting up a strategic housing office within the Department of Housing, and that a person has been identified to take on the role.

This, he said, would be announced by the end of the month.

Speaking on Morning Ireland today, the Taoiseach said that he expects to see elements of the Planning Act 2024 established in “the next two to three months” as the government face further backlash for their lack of delivery on the housing front. 

Martin said the planning commission outlined in the act will be established with statutory timelines in the short term. 

“Without question, planning and delivery is the biggest issue facing us as a country, across the public service and across agencies and so forth,” Martin said. “And that’s why we are saying in terms of water and in terms of the grid; these are more fundamental enablers of housing that we’re very focused on in terms of the capital plan.”

He further said that the national planning framework will come before cabinet within the month of April.

The government has come under fire for its failing to deliver on promises relating to housing. This year, it emerged that in the lead-up to the general election in November 2024, then-Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien had been informed that the government was going to miss out on the housing targets, despite the government’s assertions during the election campaign that it was on track to deliver.

Today, Martin insisted that housing is a top priority for his government. 

He spoke briefly on the Tenant in Situ scheme, which has recently been faced with reform, and said: “[The scheme] had to be targeted at those who needed to most. There was elements coming into how that scheme has been operated, busy local authorities, which was not satisfactory.”

The Tenant in Situ scheme allows councils to step in and purchase a privately rented home where a landlord is looking to sell the property.

Last week, a young woman availing of the scheme told The Journal that her family’s lives have been “upended” after a surprise change to the scheme.

Martin said that the publication of the national planning framework, which would allow local authorities to rezone more land, would enable more private sector investment and improve the housing situation.

Following Martin’s comments, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson TD Eoin Ó Broin said, “We don’t need a housing czar, we need a radical reset of housing policy.”

He took aim at the government’s policies for housing and said that change would only come with a change of government and minister.