The Minister for Housing says he plans to deliver the 'Housing for All' plan.
The €20 billion plan promises to deliver 33,000 homes a year on average, rising to 40,000.
However, a lack of workers will make it impossible to ramp that up very soon.
But, speaking to Beat News at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, O'Brien says the plan will create 27,000 new construction jobs:
"I understand why some may look at this with a jaundiced view, my intention is to deliver on this. I have put past the first affordable housing act in the history of the state in 12 months, I have the plans in place, legislation in place, and the money to deliver it. Now we need to build the capacity within the sector to be able to deliver these 300,000 between now and 2030. This plan will deliver at least 27,000 additional jobs."
Meanwhile, the new plan has taken a lot of heat in the past 24 hours with Sinn Féin saying it's 'nothing new' for renters.
The 'Housing For All' plan aims to give security to tenants by offering indefinite tenancy agreements.
But Sinn Fein's spokesperson for housing, Eoin Ó Broin, says there is no legislation to support the tenants when their landlord decides to sell their property.
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien says it's predictable that opposition parties would criticize the plan.
Speaking to Beat News at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, O'Brien says it's now time to deliver:
"What does it mean to the people listening to Beat and to people around the country looking to own a home? They will now be able to do that through our plan and affordable housing, so those people who're out there working who feel they can't ever get to own their own home or who are paying for rent and trying to save, are now going to be able to do it through this plan, but now what it's about is delivery - plans are plans but delivery is more important."
Listen to the full interview here:
