Jim Gavin says Government action on housing ‘not good enough’

Presidential candidate Jim Gavin has said the Government’s actions on housing are “not good enough” and “need to be improved”.

The former Dublin Gaelic football manager said it was acknowledged that the Government’s actions were not sufficient and that solving housing needed to be the priority.

He answered questions on comments he made about Gaza last week, approaches made to him to get into politics by Fine Gael, and on his first campaign video which was shot on a farm as he arrived at the Fianna Fail think-in in Cork on Monday.

Mr Gavin was nominated as Fianna Fail’s presidential nominee last week over former junior minister Billy Kelleher.

The Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition has been grappling with the housing crisis, which has seen rent costs, house prices and the number of homeless people continue to rise over recent years.

Asked about the Fianna Fail party’s record in power, and both the economic crash and the housing crisis, Mr Gavin said President Michael D Higgins had done a “phenomenal job” highlighting issues such as housing for young people.

He said that while canvassing at the Marina Market on Monday, he spoke to young people about the housing crisis.

Mr Gavin said: “So for me, it’s about expressing what I can do as a president from that unifying perspective.

“I was out at the market there earlier on today, met a lot of students on their lunch break and had a chat about it with them, and that does come up about what’s going to happen when they go to college and the rent.

“I met two people that have come back from Sydney and are going back again so I just need to relate to them and to listen to their story.

“And so we had great discussions this morning, as brief as it was, about the future of Ireland. So as the president, you know, I need to advocate for that.”

Asked whether he would speak out about such issues, he said he would use the “unifying power” of the president to speak up “without fear or favour”.

Mr Gavin said that Mr Higgins and his two predecessors had shown there is “a balance to be got” about speaking on behalf of people who do not have a voice.

Asked how Housing Minister James Browne was doing, he said housing was “a huge challenge”.

Mr Gavin said: “I spoke to young women and men down in the market there earlier on, and they’re concerned when they get out of college, they need to have houses.

“Housing is a huge issue, the party have made it very clear that it is one of their number one priorities, and we need to get it right, we all know that, so that must be the focus of the party.”

He added: “All I can do from my perspective, if I am fortunate enough to get elected, is to keep the pressure, keep the focus on housing, that ultimately needs to be solved.

“It’s not good enough yet. Housing needs to be solved.

“It’s not good enough, it needs to be improved.”

Asked about a poll at the weekend that indicated a third of Fianna Fail voters would give the Fine Gael candidate their first preference, Mr Gavin said: “From my perspective, polls, predictions, the bookies – I’ve no interest in them.

“My focus will be on Jim Gavin’s campaign, my campaign for the presidency.”