EOGHAN MURPHY HAS said that he would like to stay on as Housing Minister if his party is returned to government because there is “more for me to do”.

Murphy was speaking this afternoon at an election event alongside Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and another party candidate Deirdre Duffy.

Murphy pledged that his party would ensure 60,000 social houses are provided over the next five years.

“10,000 social houses were provided last year and 11,000 will be this year”, Minister Murphy said before criticising the opposition’s plans.

We have heard soundbites, bills published in the last minute which fell down because of holes in them and uncertainty from people on radio not knowing their policy on a rent freeze, they can’t have it every which way, we’ve been very clear.

“We know we have to do more, because we protected the economy we’re having record delivery now and we will continue to break these records,” he added.

Murphy was on the campaign trail for the first time since the election was called and he told RTÉ’s Seán O’Rourke earlier today that his party would be: “talking about housing every day during this election campaign because we know it’s affecting people up and down the country”.

“We have more than doubled the amount of homes being built since we launched our plan just three years ago, and we’re going to double it again,” he told the programme

Murphy was also asked about the homeless man who was seriously injured when his tent was ‘removed’ from Wilton Terrace along Dublin’s Grand Canal on Tuesday afternoon by Waterways Ireland.

Related Reads

Opinion: The two homeless tragedies this week mean the Irish electorate is alert to this issue

Council street crews called out hundreds of times to clean up discarded needles on Dublin streets

“This was a shocking incident and an accident that happened, I think the whole country has been awfully upset by it and I know that all our thoughts are with the person who’s in hospital and the other people involved,” Murphy said.

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this, it’s not the government policy to just remove tents like this but the tents were in a very precarious position and people may now have seen photographs to see where they were,” the minister added.

“Every city and council manager has been told directly by me that this must not happen again and to take every care when they are looking after people who need our help the most.”

- With reporting by Rónán Duffy