Roscommon Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy

This afternoon.

Oireachtas members sleeping in their cars due to a lack of hotel accommodation in Dublin is not a widespread phenomenon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

Via RTE News:

It follows a report in a newspaper that an Oireachtas member from the west of Ireland said he slept in his car after he was unable to find a room.

The unnamed politician (since named) told the Irish Daily Mail he slept in his car twice after repeated attempts to find a place to stay failed.

Mr Martin said that there are pressures on accommodation due to a rebound in tourism and efforts to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said he was not aware of the case.

Taoiseach says Oireachtas members sleeping in cars ‘not widespread’ (RTE)

Meanwhile…

Government politicians are given a €120 a night accommodation allowance and Senator Murphy said “out of principal” he would never pay more than €200 a night for a room.

Senator Murphy said has only been able to secure a room for one night in the last three weeks and when he asked if he could book the same for room next week he was told there “was not a chance” as the hotel is fully booked.

Politician forced to sleep in his car due to lack of hotel rooms in Dublin: ‘You end up with three hours’ sleep’ (Independent.ie)

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