LEADERS’ QUESTIONS GOT underway today, as normal, with the speaking rights row put to bed, for now. 

In the first Leaders’ Questions taken by Micheál Martin since he was elected Taoiseach, the housing targets being missed was the first issue raised by Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald .

She accused the Taoiseach of misleading the public during the election by stating that close to 40,000 houses would be delivered in 2024. 

McDonald said the claims were “a load of bull”.

According to figures by the Central Statistics Office, housing delivery actually fell by 6.7% last year. 

A total of 30,330 new homes were built last year, just under 10,000 units less than what former Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien and Taoiseach Simon Harris promised voters would be completed last year.

O’Brien told reporters last year that completion rates would reach up to 40,000 or, at least, the “high thirties” last year.

The comments made by the Taoiseach, Harris and O’Brien were repeated back to them today by opposition members during Leaders’ Questions today. 

McDonald said the 40,000 figure for new homes was “pure fiction” stating that it was a “trick designed to mislead the public”. 

“And now your election lies have been exposed and you have been caught out,” McDonald said. 

She called on the Taoiseach to correct the record. Responding, Micheál Martin said it was his “genuine belief” that housing delivery would hit the high thirty thousands.

He referenced a number of banks and construction reports that made those estimates, however, Martin said he is “very disappointed” that the 2024 targets were not reached.

“For 2024, we got the figure wrong in terms of what we thought might happen. The target was 33 [thousand], we thought it would be much higher than that. And I regret that,” Martin said. 

Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan also rounded on the government over the issue, stating that that previous housing minister was repeating the claim that the 40,000 housing target would be reached.

He asked Martin if he regrets misleading the public.

Rounding on O’Callaghan, Martin said that the Social Democrats were not serious about entering government during the government formation talks. 

Martin said: “One of your main contributions at that meeting was, and I remember it well, you looking at the clock, at the watch, nudge nudge, time to get out to make the Six O’Clock News for the soundbite.”

“That did happen, that happened, we saw it on our side, you had no commitment to go into government,” Martin said to O’Callaghan.