Durkan: Let’s build houses

INFLUENTIAL figures in Fine Gael last week conducted a briefing campaign against a Fine Gael TD who criticised the party’s housing policy in a private meeting – but Bernard Durkan told the Irish Mail on Sunday that he has no ‘vendetta’ against Eoghan Murphy.

Kildare TD Durkan conducted a forensic criticism of housing policy led by Minister Murphy at a behind-closed-doors Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last week. Mr Murphy and his allies were particularly sensitive to any perceived denunciation as the minister had just narrowly survived a motion of no confidence in the Dáil.

Many believe the tight vote and the acrimonious debate marked the beginning of the end of this Confidence and Supply Government.

In a series of briefings that began within minutes of the parliamentary party meeting at Leinster House, ministers, TDs and party operatives were whispering against Mr Durkan. One minister said that ‘he wasn’t making much sense’. A Fine Gael TD added that he was on ‘a personal crusade’ against the Government’s housing policy. Another said he was ‘rambling’.

Mr Durkan, 74, has been a TD for almost 40 years.

However, he said he was only trying to offer his advice gleaned from a long involvement in housing policy.

‘A lot of people disagree with what I have to say, I’m an old guy now, what I’m saying is maybe old-fashioned,’ said Mr Durkan. ‘They are saying “well he doesn’t really know what he’s doing and it’s a personal campaign of his and it’s a vendetta”.

‘I don’t have any vendetta at all for Christ’s sake,’ the Kildare North TD told the Irish Mail on

Sunday yesterday.

He said that Government housing policy was a ‘mishmash’.

‘There are not enough houses, we need an ongoing building programme at local authority level, which is unimpeded, which is good value for money and is done in a fast efficient way. And at the same time we use the other models that are being used at the present time.’

Mr Durkan said he has criticised policy, under successive governments, that has moved away from local authority house building in favour of renting.

‘Essentially what I said at the parliamentary party is something I’ve been saying all along.

‘I have for a long, long time been an advocate of a return to the old-fashioned system of building local authority houses in order to meet the market needs on an ongoing basis. In other words every year. The renting method is not working.’