The housing crisis dominated the first day of the Fine Gael think-in in Galway on Thursday, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stressing that there were no quick fixes to a long-term problem, while Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy unveiled another initiative to tackle the problem. Although Murphy did not name the local authorities in his sights, it is understood they are the four Dublin councils, though sources said there were different failings in each area. Previously Government sources engaged with the issue were wary of criticising local authorities directly or making direct interventions as they feared it would discourage councils from moving ahead with projects. This is partly because Ministers want local authorities to take their fair share of the responsibility – and the blame – for the crisis. Both Murphy and the Taoiseach have been stressing the role of local authorities of late.

Source: The Irish Times September 06, 2018 19:52 UTC