Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Louise O’Reilly TD, has said the housing crisis being presided over and exacerbated by the current government is destabilising the economy.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“It was of no surprise to learn that the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, was sent to firefight concerns about the scale of the housing crisis among American multinational firms.

“For over a decade, Sinn Féin has highlighted that the housing crisis was damaging our economic competitiveness.

“Research, data and testimonies from organisations such as Ibec, Chambers Ireland, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME), the Irish Exporters Association, and the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC), all pointed to the destabilising effect of the housing crisis on our economic competitiveness and productivity.

“Added to this are the concerns of the American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham) who cited the availability of housing as the number one challenge for their members.

“Survey data from AmCham revealed that almost two-thirds (64pc) of US firms in Ireland expect to add jobs in the next year.

“It is clear the housing crisis poses a threat to such investment given the chief executive of AmCham said that ‘the future of inward investment will be as much about where people want to live as where companies want to locate’.

“Such sentiment echoes advice given to government from the NCPC when they told the coalition to make Ireland a better place to live to protect our competitiveness and productivity.

“Minister O’Brien can try and allay the fears of US businesses all he wants, but every sector of the economy is affected by the housing crisis, and it is now putting pressure on both the multinational sector and the SME sector, and their ability to maintain their current position and grow into the future.

“Unfortunately, this government, like its predecessors, is caught in an ideological quagmire in terms of housing policy, and only a change of government, and change of Housing Minister, will truly address the housing crisis for the betterment of society and the economy.”