Could a new State agency solve the housing crisis?

Everyone has - in theory - a solution to the housing crisis. The one thing that is certain is that we need more houses. How they can be delivered is not so certain. Academics Dr Rory Hearne and Phil Murphy wrote an OpEd for the Irish Times arguing that the solution lies in the establishment of a State agency whose sole responsibility throughout the country is housebuilding.

They write “a key solution is the Irish State getting back into delivering housing on a major scale through local authorities and housing associations and also new approaches that can deliver rapid results”. Their suggested name for this entity is Homes for Ireland: the Irish Sustainable Home Building Agency.

So how would it work and is the political appetite there for such a plan? Hearne talks through the details with Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.