COALITION OF THE WILTING
Cabinet unease grows at O’Brien’s free pass in light of the catalogue of failures in his crucial ministry
TAOISEACH Micheál Martin’s controversial decision to hand Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien a blank cheque is causing growing unease as an analysis by the Irish Mail on Sunday confirms he has failed to deliver his key commitments in office.
As the Coalition reaches the half-time stage in its five-year term we examined 18 key promises the Government made when it entered office.
Aside from housing and missed climate change targets, our analysis reveals that despite the rise of Sinn Féin, the Government is performing well in key areas such as the economy, welfare and childcare.
But the findings will make grim reading for Minister O’Brien: not a single affordable home was built in 2021. The figure so far for this year is just 325.
The capital expenditure on housing is 20% lower than it was this time last year, with an underspend of €240m forecast for 2022.
Meanwhile, new rents have increased by 9% this year, while house prices continued to rise, by 8%. A total of 10,805 people are now homeless.
In a scathing critique of the minister’s performance, Social Democrat housing spokesman Cian O’Callaghan told the MoS: ‘Darragh O’Brien seems to be in total
‘Darragh O’Brien’s in total denial about crisis’
denial about the extent of the crisis and how it impacts everyday life in Ireland.’
Despite facing a growing barrage of criticism, Mr O’Brien is the sole minister who has been guaranteed a return to cabinet by the outgoing Taoiseach, who will rotate roles with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in December.
The Housing Minister’s special status has sparked fresh unease within Fine Gael, with one minister warning: ‘We did not sign off on this [O’Brien’s] reappointment.’
Another senior Fine Gael figure noted: ‘It is, of course, Fianna Fáil business.
‘We are more than happy for them to keep housing, but it looks a little peculiar.’
Sources within Fianna Fáil suspect Mr O’Brien’s ‘special position’ may be informed by the as yet undeclared race to succeed Mr Martin as leader.
Despite his poor performance in the crucial housing brief, Mr O’Brien is believed to have become a real contender in the succession stakes.
One Fianna Fáil minister said: ‘If there was a leadership race, strange as it might seem, he would be well ahead.’
They noted the alternatives: ‘[Public Expenditure Minister] Michael McGrath would like a few more years at the level he is at, he sees it as being a little early.
‘[Chief Whip] Jack Chambers is simply under
cooked, and [Dublin Bay South TD] Jim O’Callaghan is just seen as being a bit of a gilded amateur.
[Laois-Offaly TD] Barry Cowen is maybe a brave choice. [Junior Minister] Niall Collins is a dark horse;
he is the man who is sent out to bat when the party is in trouble, but he may be too smart to want it.
‘Darragh is throwing shapes and making all the moves, he is getting his little retinue together. Micheál is
watching him very carefully… he is watching lots of people very carefully.’