Michael D Higgins' remarks on Israel and the housing crisis are just the latest examples of him ‘overstepping the mark’ as president, Shane Coleman has claimed.

Speaking during his visit to the United Nations in New York yesterday, President Higgins once again hit out at Ireland’s housing policy – labelling it ‘inconceivable’ that the State is not directly building houses.

President Higgins also rejected the Taoiseach’s suggestion that the housing and homelessness crises were linked to rising immigration levels.

Separately, he accused the Israeli Embassy of leaking a congratulatory letter he recently sent to the newly elected president of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian - a claim the embassy has rejected and labelled “highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous”.

President Michael D. Higgins speaks to the United Nations General Assembly during the Summit of the Future, 22-09-2024. Image: Associated Press / Alamy

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, presenter Shane Coleman said the remarks are just the latest example of the president overstepping the mark in his role.

“It's Groundhog Day and the reality is Michael D Higgins has overstepped the mark on many occasions,” said Shane.

“Look, people will defend him - many people have - and the other reality is the public don't care and voters don't care.

“They're not interested in the constitutional niceties; they see Michael D Higgins as standing up for them and standing up for their rights.”

He said President Higgins’s calls for the State to directly build houses appear to support Sinn Féin policy – meaning he could be seen to be endorsing opposition policy and criticising the Government.

Ciara Kelly in the Newstalk studio. Image: Rory Walsh/Newstalk

Fellow presenter Ciara Kelly said she believes the president is “also factually incorrect” when it comes to the link between immigration and the housing crisis – insisting it is ‘stupid’ to say there is no link.

“The truth is, because over 100,000 people have come here for the last couple of years and, I mean, our birthrate, I think is about 60,000 per year, so we have, you know, tripled, more or less, our numbers that we would be expecting.

“So of course, it has put pressure [on housing].

“That doesn't mean that we don't have international obligations, that doesn't mean that we don’t have to put rooves over people's heads and all of that – I’m not saying that.

“But he's wrong. Of course, immigration in our country is affecting this. It is stupid to say it is not.”

She noted that, regardless of whether he is right, the question is whether he should be making the comments at all.

“He certainly is not operating the presidency's role in the way it was intended,” she said.

President Michael D Higgins in England, 11-4-14. Image: Colin Underhill / Alamy

President Higgins has previously faced criticism for describing the housing crisis as a “disaster” and the country’s “great, great, great failure”.

He has also waded into the debate on Irish neutrality – accusing the Government of ‘playing with fire’ by hosting a Consultative Forum on International Security which explored Irish neutrality among other issues.

Constitutional experts have noted that while the President’s previous comments did not actually break any constitutional rules, there is a longstanding convention that dictates that a sitting president would not openly criticise the Government or become entangled in party politics.