Micheál Martin has been accused by Opposition parties of “plámásing” Donald Trump while also drawing criticism for laughing at the US president’s comments concerning Ireland’s housing crisis being a “good problem”.
Although the Taoiseach’s visit to the White House as part of St Patrick’s Day celebrations went largely without incident on Wednesday, Opposition TDs took aim at his handling of Mr Trump’s categorising Ireland’s housing crisis as a “good problem”.
Asked about Ireland’s housing crisis by reporters at the Oval Office, Mr Trump claimed the reason for the crisis was because Ireland was “doing so well”.
“They can’t provide houses fast enough. That’s a good problem, not a bad problem,” Mr Trump said. “Everybody should have that problem. That’s okay. I know this gentleman. He’ll get it solved.”
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Laughing, the Taoiseach said Mr Trump’s remark was a “very good answer”.
[ Micheál Martin’s White House bout with Donald Trump: How did the Taoiseach fare?Opens in new window ]
Following the exchange, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin wrote on X to criticise the Taoiseach’s response, saying: “Joking about the housing crisis is never ‘a good answer’.”
Labour spokesman on foreign affairs Duncan Smith said the Trump administration’s approach to the European Union, tariffs and Ireland’s pharmaceutical sector, as well as the US president’s vision of peace, were “deeply concerning”.
“The Taoiseach failed to robustly defend our values, the European project or challenge falsehoods while laughing about our housing crisis. It is also clear that the Taoiseach held back on Ireland’s position on Gaza and Palestine,” he said.
People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett accused the Taoiseach of “utterly pathetic plámásing” of Mr Trump.
“Incredibly, he praises Trump for his ‘peace efforts’ when Trump is threatening to ethnically cleanse Gaza and is arming the genocidal Israeli regime to the teeth & telling the EU it must spend more on arms – shameful,” he said on X.
On RTÉ radio’s Drivetime, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the EU “weren’t helpful” to Mr Martin in announcing, on the day of the Taoiseach’s White House visit, counter tariffs on imports of US goods.
“If it had been me, I would have been very annoyed at the EU for deciding to make their statements this morning. That wasn’t very helpful to the Taoiseach,” he said.
“It was the day for St Patrick’s Day. It was the Irish day. And the Taoiseach will be fighting the European issue in many more meetings over the months to come, but I think today was to defend our position and he did that well.”
