FG fury at claim housing failures due to ‘cosseted’ backgrounds

A CLAIM that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy are failing to address the housing crisis due to their “cosseted” backgrounds has sparked fury in Fine Gael.

Dublin South-West TD Colm Brophy hit out at the remarks by Fianna Fáil’s new housing spokesman Darragh O’Brien.

He said it was “sad” to see a representative of the main Opposition party “reduced to trash-talk politics as if he was taking part in a Conor McGregor match”.

Another Fine Gael TD, Noel Rock, said people are fed up of “personalised attacks” and called on Mr O’Brien to apologise.

Mr Murphy’s spokesman claimed Mr O’Brien’s comments reveal a lack of housing policy on the part of Fianna Fáil.

Mr O’Brien last night accused Fine Gael of “over-reaction” to his remarks, which appeared in the ‘Sunday Independent’. He denied they were a personal attack on Mr Varadkar and Mr Murphy. He said he was “at pains to point that out” in the interview and encouraged his critics to read the article as it made that clear.

Mr O’Brien said he had been highlighting what he argued is a lack of Government progress and urgency in solving the housing crisis. He rejected the suggestion it had been “trash-talk” and that Fianna Fáil lacked policy in the area. He said that he had pointed to specific areas his party was focussing on including affordability, rent and supply.