Eoin Ó Broin discusses Gerry Adams, landlords and more on Deise Today

The Sinn Fein spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin was interviewed by Damien Tiernan on Deise Today during a visit to Waterford yesterday.

Deputy Ó Broin said he was doing a 'whistle stop tour' of the City and County to engage with people on matters surrounding his brief. The TD said the visit "genuinely isn't part of an election campaign."

Gerry Adams controversy

In the course of the visit he was interviewed by Damien Tiernan for Deise Today, and during the interview a recent controversy surrounding Gerry Adams and a Christmas sketch was discussed.

Victims of Provisional IRA violence have condemned Adams for the piece, intended to be comedy, in which he sings, “Tis' the season to be jolly, tiocfaidh ar lá, lá, lá, lá."

Eoin Ó Broin told Damien that an apology from the former Sinn Fein leader 'would be helpful' in light of growing criticism of the sketch.

The private rental sector

Discussing landlords, Deputy Ó Broin, who has ambitions to be the next Housing Minister, said while tenants need security and affordability, that Sinn Fein is not in the business of pushing landlords out of the private rental system, as long as they're tax compliant and obey by the rules.

What we want to see is stability in the private rental sector... the fact that Fine Gael have presided over the most dramatic increases in rents in the last decade and the most dramatic loss of landlords for the first time in 20 years shows that they aren't solving the problem.

Traveller accommodation in Waterford

Eoin Ó Broin was also asked how he would defend Sinn Fein Councillors in Waterford voting against the proposed extension of a Traveller halting site in Carrickphierish. He told Damien that the party cannot under law impose a whip on planning decisions. He said, however, this is an example of where he disagrees with the Councillors' decision, and that he would have voted for it in his own jurisdiction.