Browne weighs in on Sec Gen's suggestion that 'housing tsar' role not necessary

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

Housing Minister James Browne has defended his Secretary General after he suggested there was no need for the controversial housing tsar.
It came just hours after Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said that all Secretaries General would have to implement any decision made by the Government.
At an event held by Property Industry Ireland (PII) earlier this week, Department of Housing Secretary General Graham Doyle said he did not see the need for a "housing tsar" for the new Housing Activation Office.
The role was plunged into controversy after NAMA boss Brendan McDonagh pulled out of the race following ongoing discussion about his €430,000 salary.
According to the Business Post, when talking about freeing up housing blockages, Mr Doyle said: "We don't need a tsar to do all of that. And we never, ever used the word tsar."
The term "housing tsar" was used by Minister Browne in an interview with the Sunday Independent.
Speaking at a sod turning at the new Land Development Project at Donore in Dublin 8, Minister Browne stated that he had spoken to Mr Doyle and his grievance was with the 'housing tsar' title rather than the position itself.
He said: "[Mr Doyle is] fully supportive of the creation of the Housing Activation Office and it having a CEO role.
"I think what he got into [at the conference] was almost a semantic debate about the description of the role and what it should be called.
"But he's fully supportive of it. I've spoken with him since and his support is very much there.
"But it is the Government that makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on with really key decisions.
"The Housing Activation office is one of those, to have that team on the ground, unlocking sites and making sure that the utilities are matching up with the local authority and where we need homes built as quickly as possible.
"It was a debate around the title is where he was going with it."
Mr Browne admitted that the debate about the title 'housing tsar' has been a 'frustration for myself' and he wants to focus on appointing a CEO.
He added: "Whatever anybody wants to call it, that's a matter for them. I very much see it as a team leader on the ground.
"I'm, as the minister, responsible for strategy, responsible for policy, responsible for oversight of the housing activation office. I will be doing that."
Mr Browne first told the Sunday Independent in February that the Housing Activation office would be headed up by "that type of housing tsar I suppose, although it's not a phrase I would personally use."
Elsewhere, Minister Browne was asked about reports in Friday's Irish Times that houses for sale in an affordable housing scheme in Kildare are priced too high to qualify for the local authority's home loan scheme for affordable housing.
He said that he wants to ensure that these schemes "align," and they were "clearly not aligning".
The Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford stated that he had asked for a review to be carried out of the home loan scheme to make sure it "matches across the country in terms of those limits".
The proposals landed on his desk on Thursday, and a decision will be made "rapidly" to "get the review carried out and finished and get those limits increased where they need to be increased".
Minister Browne said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the disparity existed in other parts of the country.
He added: "But absolutely that disparity, I'm not happy with that, and I'm going to have that addressed."