
Share
30th March 2023
01:00pm BST

Leo Varadkar's government have endured a wave of criticism following their decision to cease the eviction ban provision. (Credit: Getty Images)[/caption]
The instructions to which the TD is referencing include the much-maligned tenant-in-situ scheme, which saw the government's policy of attempting to empower local councils to purchase properties from landlords fail to an almost comical degree.
Under 3 per cent of properties offered by landlords to county councils were ultimately purchased, leading to the policy's failure to conjure any significant or meaningful change when dealing with the lack of affordable housing.
Cowen then proceeded to offer an analogy between the eviction ban and sweets, a decision which has seen the TD face widespread criticism online for what many observers viewed as downplaying a serious issue which impacts much of society.
"Keeping or extending the ban isn't necessarily going to solve this crisis into the future. It's like making sweets free for children. It's fine for a little while, but ultimately detrimental to the greater need", said Cowen.In response to the backlash the Fianna Fáil TD has faced, Cowen doubled down on Wednesday's comments, which he defended by saying "It was just an analogy in an effort to prove that further eviction was merely a stopgap solution rather than a concrete measure which people demand". [caption id="attachment_771459" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Housing minister Darragh O'Brien has claimed the government is "getting to grips" with the housing crisis. (Credit: Getty Images)[/caption]
Some of the fiercest criticism from the opposition towards the remarks of Cowen have been from Labour's Aodhán Ó Riordáin and the Social Democrat TD Cian O'Callaghan, with Cowen responding directly to the pair's condemnations.
Ó Riordáin, a TD for Dublin Bay North, labelled the comparison made by the government TD as "disgraceful", whilst O'Callaghan, who represents the same constituency, described Cowen's comments as "lacking compassion"
"It is pedantic, a focus on words, not the message", stated the Fianna Fáil TD, before adding "I can’t understand it. Aodhán Ó Riordáin and Cian O’Callaghan are looking to shift attention away from their own (positions)".
However, Cowen did also offer an apology of sorts when stating "If what I said was offensive, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s a pity and I’m sorry that some people might have been offended but it certainly wasn’t my intention to do so".
Related articles:
Explore more on these topics:

Politics | Joe.ie
politics