The Minister for Further and Higher Education has dismissed suggestions that a 'housing czar' is to be appointed.
It comes after the Taoiseach said on RTÉ Morning Ireland earlier that the appointment of someone to the role was "imminent".
Micheál Martin said the appointment was aimed at speeding up the delivery of housing and that the objective was to have one in place by the end of the month.
"We've already made the decisions on that," he said
"We're setting up the Strategic Housing Office within the Department of Housing and a person has been identified and obviously the minister will announce that very, very shortly.
"That will again be the objective, of being on big sites and in big areas to unblock any sort of barriers or blockages getting in the way of developments coming through."
However, speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Minister James Lawless said there is "no czar being appointed".
"There is a Strategic Housing Activation Office, which will have a number of individuals within it, drawn from State and public and private sectors, who have expertise in making these [construction] sites work," Mr Lawless said.
Meanwhile Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said a "radical reset of housing policy" was required, rather than a new housing czar.
"The Government has been in office for ten weeks and so far we have seen no indication that there is any change in housing policy," he said.
"The Programme for Government and the Minister for Housing's various pronouncements make crystal clear that this government intends to continue on with the same failed policies as its predecessors."
"House prices, rent and homelessness are all continuing to rise. Social and affordable housing targets are being missed.
"Vital homeless prevention supports are being restricted and capital funding for social and affordable housing is way behind where we need it to be.
He said "the idea that the appointment of a housing czar will change any of this is absurd", adding that instead they could "just become a whipping boy for a Government and minister to deflect from their own ongoing failures".
Earlier, the Fianna Fáil leader also said housing was a "top priority" for the Government.
He said that a decision on rent pressure zones would be made "very shortly" after a review has been completed, and that the National Planning Framework will also be published shortly.
Mr Martin said that will allow the Government to instruct local authorities to rezone more land for more housing.
He added that planning is an issue that is being dealt with in the Planning Act.
"We did need to unblock the planning issue, that's accepted and it will take a while to now implement it, such as the enormity of the plan," he said.
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The Taoiseach said that An Coimisiún Pleanála will be established in the next two to three months.
"And there will be statutory timelines. Without question, planning and delivery is the biggest issue facing us as a country across the public service and across agencies and so forth.
"And that's why we are saying in terms of water and in terms of the grid, these are more fundamental enablers of housing that we're very focused on in terms of the capital plan," he said.
He said protecting the capital funding basis was "critical", so it could be spent on infrastructure to enable sustained growth in housing over the future.
Mr Martin added that within the next two to three weeks the National Planning Framework will be going to the Cabinet.
