A Longford councillor has accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of being “disingenuous” in his recent comments about social housing provision under the Government’s action plan for housing .
Social Democrat councillor Gerry Warnock said the Taoiseach was attempting to lay the blame for the housing crisis at the door of local authorities.
He said Mr Kenny failed to mention the "bureaucratic hoops" local authorities have to jump through to draw down funds which could then be used be used for housing provision.
He said Longford County Council, like several others around the country, had identified land and sites suitable for housing years ago, but had not been given funds to build.
“We’ve had several instances of local authorities with shovel ready schemes that have sat for years on desks in government departments waiting for a green light.
“The problem rests with the inefficiency within various Government departments,” he told Shannonside Radio.
The action plan aims increase the number of homes built per year to 25,000 by 2021. It also aims to provide 47,000 social housing units in the same period, with funding for social housing increased to €5.35 billion from a previously announced €3.7 billion.
In a statement on Friday spokesman for the Department of the Environment said local authorities would be allocated additional funding to meet the new, higher targets for social housing provision.
Mr Warnock's comments come as the chairperson of the National Sub-committee on Housing of the Local Government Management Association said the plan provide 47,000 social housing units would take a "few years" but can be achieved.
Eugene Cummins, who is also chief executive of Roscommon County Council, said time was required for the planning and tendering process for new housing.
"The scale of the investment, it will require the planning for estates, it will involve the private sector getting back into building, so it's going to take a few years until we start actually building," he told RTE's Morning Ireland programme.
Separately, MEP Brian Hayes said on Friday the Government needs to help builders to get their mojo back.
He told the RTE's Today with Sean O'Rourke show this morning that last week had been the "best week for this government" so far.
AAA-PBP TD Ruth Coppinger replied there was "a poverty of ambition" in the Housing Action Plan given the scale of the problem.
“If it did succeed it would house only one third of the people on the housing list in the six years, what about the other two thirds, do they have to wait ten years?
“We have the land and the money.”
Mr Hayes said the whole idea of the plan was for all sides to work to build together.
“We need to drop the ideology and the political point scoring and work at getting this up and running.”