Campaigner David Hall: We need conclave on housing crisis

Extra.ie​

05-05-2025

Housing campaigner David Hall has called for a 'Great Conclave' on housing similar to the forthcoming Papal election.
Mr Hall, of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, said: 'The problems in housing are so systemic that we need to engage in a similar process to electing the pope.'
In an original suggestion, he said: 'We need to lock all of the stakeholders, the mandarins in housing, the councils, the top builders, the financiers, Irish Water, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the providers of electricity and gas, An Bord Pleanála, into a single room. Housing campaigner David Hall has called for a 'Great Conclave' on housing similar to the forthcoming Papal election. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
'They would be only allowed to leave when they come up with a plan for housing they all agree upon. There would be no phones or social media or any contact with the outside world though they would be allowed modest dining facilities.'
Mr Hall made the suggestion against a backdrop of collapsing public confidence in the Government's Housing Strategy with only 30% of the public expressing confidence in Housing Minister James Browne, according to the latest Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll.
Mr Hall added: 'There is no sense of impetus in Housing. There's a sense that there is no cash, no appetite and no vision. 'There is a sense that everything has come to a shuddering halt. All sense of impetus is gone. Housing Minister James Browne. Pic: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
There's tumbleweed in the corridors. The pipeline has stopped. Builders don't want to know. The cranes are still there but they're not moving.' Echoing the concerns of other housing providers on the ongoing excess of bureaucracy and planning, Mr Hall said: 'When it comes to the reluctance to build, it's not just the absence of cash. It is that you are tortured if you try to build anything.
Housing is seen as a sinking ship, there is no incentive to get on it.' His warning comes against a backdrop of serious unease over the capacity of Mr Browne in the wake of the implosion of the Housing Minister's plan to hire Nama head Brendan McDonagh as a housing 'enforcer'. Pic:Despite Mr McDonagh ruling himself out, unease within Fine Gael remains high over the Minister's performance, with one senior party source noting: 'Yes we have had our fun, we have our head, but this is going to haunt the Government and us.' One FG source said: 'Browne is a harmless, inoffensive, pleasant sort of a creature who is far too nice to be kicking in doors, let alone challenging infidels.
The problem that Fine Gael will have with James is contagion. He clearly is not up to the job so what we are starting to worry about is when will this impact on us.' One FG minister warned: 'Often it is the case that a harmless appointment becomes a harmful appointment for both parties.
The electorate reluctantly agreed to give the Government a last chance on housing and then they appointed a boy to do a man's job. Unless James steps up, this is not sustainable.' One FG source said: 'You would almost be nostalgic for [previous hou Pic: Shutterstock
The great plan was unveiled and immediately fell apart.' Fianna Fáil though have warned Fine Gael not to bask too much in their victory, with one minister noting: 'We know that [FG leader Simon] Harris knew McDonagh was the choice.
There's a lot of mistrust after this week. 'There is a sense that Fine Gael were itching for a row after the election, they feel they needed it to regain respect, or rather the leader needed it, but they would be wise to back off now.' Despite the warning though FF also conceded: 'The retention of James Browne is now an issue.
This is not Browne's fault, but the state of that Department meant it was a prerequisite a senior minister got the job: a Paschal or a Jack Chambers. This is no job for an intern.' Meanwhile anger is also high within Fianna Fáil over the attempt to appoint Mr McDonagh, with one FF source noting: 'He got someone in to solve a problem that he is part of. 'The Minister was right in saying we need an enforcer.
That Department (Housing) is the sick man of Irish governance. There is a culture of fear where if you in any way contradict the Department you will be cancelled. 'McDonagh was not the man to change this. He is the ultimate insider.' Another Minister said: 'It was a mad appointment which raises real concerns about Browne's judgment.
Developers would not have worked with him. Top civil servants wouldn't have worked for him.' But other, more sympathetic Fianna Fáil sources close to Mr Browne, warned Taoiseach Micheál Martin that he has questions to answer too. 'Micheál is in thrall to senior mandarins. He has never been able to see a fault in them. Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie
Was McDonagh actually his choice?' One senior FF government figure said: 'It was insane, and Micheál should have seen that. He has a blind spot though for bureaucrats.' Comparing the appointment to the previous Robert Watt decision, they said: 'At least Watt was going into a vacancy. What was McDonagh doing going in to do the Minister's job or the Secretary General's post. The Taoiseach should have seen the trouble coming and intervened but he doesn't like taking decisions and he worships bureaucrats.'
One sympathetic source noted: 'This looks more like a Micheál decision. James is getting a raw deal. He is taking the hit. There is a sense that Micheál is the one living in a bubble, he is the one that is out of touch. He is as separate from the world as any embedded civil servant.'
Despite a rise in sympathy for Mr Browne, the long-term outcome is dominating political concerns, with one minister calling it 'death by process'. They added: 'We had three months of it on speaking rights and now, while the Housing Department veers out of control in a worse manner than the HSE, we're going to have nine months of where the new tsar is and who is the new tsar.'
They warned: 'The problems are only beginning. There is real tension between the leaders now. Trust does not exist. How do we build a strategy out of this?' One FF TD warned: 'The enforcer is now like Leo's communications unit, whether it be a good idea or not it is politically impossible to implement.' [e-mail]