FIGHT HOUSE

Irate Taoiseach accuses Sinn Fein of using property and rent crisis for electoral gain in Dail clash

- DAVID YOUNG and FERGHAL BLANEY

THE Taoiseach has accused Sinn Fein of exploiting the housing crisis for electoral gain with "serial" opposition to developments across the country.

In heated exchanges in the Dail, Micheal Martin rejected Mary Lou McDonald's assertion that his Government was detached from reality on the scale of the problem around high rents and limited supply.

Mr Martin told Ms McDonald not to dare lecture him on the subject, highlighting the challenges his own family had faced.

During leaders' questions, the Sinn Fein leader revealed a series of adverts for accommodation currently available for rent, including a storeroom, a converted hallway and a room in Cork where you "could touch your fridge if you stretched your feet out of your bed”.