Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has criticised Sinn Féin for being "strong on rhetoric, short on credible plans", after the opposition party said a Government minister's defence of the coalition's housing policy is the same as Donald Trump spin.
At a Sinn Féin mental health policy launch earlier today, the party's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said Government "spin" on the issue sounds like ministers have been listening to "too much Donald Trump".
His comments came after Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the country currently has "record levels" of house building and "record home ownership".
He also said that there is "better broadband in rural parts of Ireland than in the heart of Manhattan".
"What I can say is judge the evidence again, we are responding at a scale that is colossal at this point in time," Minister Burke said of housing construction.
He rejected the suggestion that the decline in affordability was the responsibility of his party in government.
Mr Doherty accused Mr Burke of engaging in spin, and said that home ownership is falling.
However, speaking at a separate media event today, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe criticised Sinn Féin for the "spin" remark.
"The rhetoric from Sinn Féin only seeks to underline the fact that while they may be strong on rhetoric they're short on credible plans and short on explanations on how they will pay for those plans.
"We have housing for all that while being successful, and that's what Government is focussed on doing," Minister Donohoe said.
He was also asked about a Savills report which found that Ireland's population growth is now rising almost four times faster than the country's construction of new homes.
In response, Minister Donohoe said: "The report today underlines what Government is aware of and that is that while population growth does play a very important role in our economy and prosperity of our country, we've also appreciated for some time that it adds to the importance of building more homes and increasing supply.
"That is essential and that is what is happening.
"Since the Government was formed, 110,000 new homes have been built or completed, and over last 12 months 50,000 homes are in various different stages of being built, but know we need to build more," he said.
Reacting to the Savills report, Mr Doherty said that it "is nothing new to us; every day we are seeing failure on housing".
He called for "a step change" in housing policy, as "every single year it gets worse".
Noting a report yesterday which said that house prices have risen 8.6% in the past year alone, Mr Doherty said that "prices are running away" and that concluded that the Government "is completely out of ideas".
Sinn Féin will be outlining its full housing plan when the Dáil returns from its summer break.
The new term starts on Wednesday, 18 September.
