A series of interventions on housing from Fianna Fáil have placed a heightened emphasis on the Coalition’s early efforts to tackle the crisis – and on relations within Government as it grapples with its approach.
The strength of interventions from Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil has not gone unnoticed among his Coalition partners.
Indeed, among some in Fine Gael there is puzzlement at the underlying strategy.
In recent years, most incoming taoisigh have sought to put their stamp on housing. There is an obvious political logic in being seen to be active and interventionist in the area.
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But Mr Martin’s comments about the future of rent pressure zones (RPZs) have sparked some concern about a risk of undermining confidence among renters who now feel exposed to policy changes.
On tax, where Fianna Fáil is reported to be considering incentives for building, Fine Gael figures have a strong objection to returning to anything that looks like the Celtic Tiger-era “section 23″ tax breaks. Such objection was clearly articulated by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in Brussels on Monday.
This is to be expected, given his position, but it feels like it runs a bit deeper than merely rehashing Department of Finance orthodoxy. With the Dublin Central TD abroad, Tánaiste Simon Harris was expected to reflect Mr Donohoe’s sentiments at the first Cabinet housing subcommittee on Monday evening. It was noteworthy that tax measures merited no mention in an agreed statement published after the meeting.
There is a feeling among some Fine Gael sources that tax breaks to drive development creates a policy of uncertainty on the ground – that the Government may, in effect, be creating its own headwinds and be inadvertently leading developers to hold off on investment decisions until there is clarity on tax treatment.
Some also, perhaps mischievously, question why it seems to be the Taoiseach setting the agenda on housing, rather than his new Minister in the department, James Browne. This leans into a well-worn trope that Mr Martin likes to exercise close control of his ministerial team, something that was also suggested when he first made Norma Foley and Stephen Donnelly Cabinet ministers five years ago.
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Also noteworthy is Mr Harris’s none-too-subtle pointing of the finger towards former minister for housing Darragh O’Brien on the ill-fated forecast of 40,000 homes last year.
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In the meeting, Ministers were told to prioritise the delivery of water and electricity for housing sites, to implement the Planning and Development Bill and draft new compulsory purchase order legislations. There was also a focus on “social and starter housing”, the progression of the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill and a commencement of a review of the RPZs, a Government statement said afterwards. The establishment of a strategic housing activation office was also agreed, with the aim of unblocking infrastructural delays. The committee also agreed to proceed with the revised National Planning Framework.
All told, the mood ahead of the Cabinet housing subcommittee gathering was more taut than might have been expected.
