Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
TÁNAISTE EAMON GILMORE said today that his leadership is not up for debate as he launched the Labour party election campaign in Dublin.
Gilmore was speaking towards the end of a week which began with one of Labour’s MEP’s, Phil Prendergast, calling on him to resign as leader of the party.
He was asked if his leadership would be debated in the aftermath of the local and European elections if Labour does badly, but he insisted: “My leadership is not up for debate, or anything.”
Gilmore said that all of the party’s 190 candidates are standing to win in the local elections and said that he never makes predictions in advance as to how many seats Labour will win.
In a bullish speech to assembled councillors, local election candidates and other party members, Gilmore said that the property bubble and the financial crisis had its origins in the planning decisions on local councils “when the wrong people were elected”.
He said he was “enormously proud” that no Labour member had ever been found to be “in the pocket” of corrupt property developers.
Gilmore also said that “the politics of fear and hate” are manifesting themselves in a number of ways across Europe presently, including in Tallaght this week where Labour candidate Martina Genockey was intimidated by locals.
He called on those targeting Labour in their election campaigns and on posters, such as People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd-Barret and Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy, to “disassociate themselves” from those who abused Genockey.
Also speaking at the launch, the Labour deputy leader Joan Burton said that the party had “planted the roots for devastated communities to recover.”
“Labour is the party of work, and Labour is helping to get Ireland working again,” she said.
There was a strong endorsement for the candidacy of European Parliament president Martin Schulz for the presidency of the European Commission.
Schulz, who was in Dublin earlier this week, was described as a “friend of Ireland” who is “on our side” when it comes to negotiations on retroactive recapitalisation of Ireland’s banks.
Gilmore said that it would be “enormously helpful” to elect Schulz as he believes in Ireland’s case for a bank debt deal.
Earlier Burton said: ”As a country we have unfinished business with EU and ECB in that regard. We have every intention of finishing it.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Loss of appetite to do the job they were elected for.
@Paul Gorry: Unemployment is at historical lows – whatever politicians say, building quicker is dependent on attracting more foreign labour which loops back to increased housing demands – Celtic Tiger meltdown territory. The likely more instant option is Trump’s economic suicide. Choose yer fix – all quite grim. As a small plus, housing here is cheaper than London, mean wages higher. For what it’s worth, my gripe is the pitiful public transport – everyone has to cram into far smaller zones.
@Paul Gorry: why have appetite when you already got elected, all the promises out of the window till the next election. Gold fishes will forget everything
@Lei tatt: 8 years on Simon’s scoliosis promise 8 years…. a lot of disappointed families and kids living in pain. Shocking!!
@Joanne Stokes: in all fairness, the previous government did give ring fenced funds to temple street for these operations however the unelected, unaccountable and untouchable officials spent it elsewhere and still don’t know where. We correctly hold the government to account and have a say in who forms the government but we have no power (it seems the government don’t either) over the officials spending the money, whether it’s in health, housing opw or any other public organisation
@The next small thing: correct.
Owning your house is essential for a decent quality of life in Ireland now. Even if it’s a kip of a place it’s still far better than renting something fancy for extortionate rates.
@Dan The Man: exactly,I’d rather own a kip,than rent a mansion.
@Dan The Man: As a foreigner (USA) living in Ireland for over twenty years, renting was the only alternative. There were just too many hurddles to jump through to own property in Ireland. However, I found renting isn’t too bad, provided you have a decent landlord with whom you both realise the property is a collaborative relationship. Yes, ownership would’ve been nice… But the difficulty of buying, and the difficulty of selling when I retire to move to a warmer climate… There is too much of a headache. Ireland isn’t an easy place to live in many cases…. But it is far better than other places. Let’s face it… Nowhere is perfect!
@Electro Box: where would this be? Asking for a friend!
@Dan The Man:
Renters Refrain …
No way… I am in shock!!
@Donna Fallon: it’s not surprising considering the shortage of qualified builders.
@Johnny Wilson: agreed,apprenticeships have fallen off a cliff as there is full employment and plenty of choice.Also a lot of Eastern European builders have gone home because there is work at home in there own country.I personally know of lots of guys in my own trade from these countries that have returned home.
@Johnny Wilson: Imagine if for every thousand they let strut in here to be on benefits and live here,that even if one in every thousand had some building trade ,but no it’s racist to even think that.
@Johnny Wilson: The dead hand of the government is responsible for the fall off in apprenticeships.
The whole education system is geared towards academic qualifications. Meanwhile, the HSA has made it increasingly difficult to have unqualified people on site or find meaningful work for them to do.
And don’t overlook the great job that Revenue has done, to the extent that many tradesmen don’t see the point in spending 10 hours / day going to a site to do backbreaking work in all weather’s. Meanwhile, people that never worked seem to live just as well.
@Thomas Sheridan: well said but they actually live better by not breaking their bikes and sitting on their asses because the welfare system is so generous, there has been studies done in the past and a personal welfare with all the benefits is earning €47,000 a year versus the average industrial wage of €33,800 so there is absolutely no initiative to work
Nothing will change while Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are still in power. Housing targets will continue to be missed and they’ll continually double down on their failed centre-left policies that have caused the shortage. Bureaucratic red tape and endless regulations slow down the construction process exponentially. Strict rent control laws choke the supply of housing and stop the houses from being built in the first place. Profits are what persuade construction companies to build. When profits are high, this causes more construction companies to enter to market and that’s what creates more housing. Ireland’s zoning laws also prevent houses from being built. Single-use zoning needs to be banned and planning boards should not be able to restrict land use based on any predetermined categories.
@William Jennings: Copy and paste. Copy and paste. Tell me Willam,Jag pilot extrodinare and cyber security expert.. who are you actually representing here? One assumes you’re a grown man.. who advocates for another grown man going around with an actual chainsaw like some gimp out of a WWE skit. You advocate the complete abolition of social welfare and housing and of the social contract. Your answer to everything is complete deregulation of all social systems and promotion of extreme capitalism.. speaking personally.. you can fk right off with your Yankee propaganda and your chainsaw. Shill.
@Brian: No answers as usual Brian, just pathetic insults. You’re nothing more than a dumb schmuck who lacks any comprehension of basic economic principles. Capitalism is the only economic system that has a proven track record of working everywhere it’s tried. Ireland is a mixed economy and that’s precisely why we have all the problems in areas such as housing and healthcare. Honestly mate, cry more. You live in a state of Marxist delusion that has no basis in reality. The jealousy is seething off you, I can practically picture the steam coming out of your ears as you typed up that rage-fuelled response. Get a grip, get a life and realise that free-market policies are the only way to build prosperity within a country. Socialism has worked in a grand total of zero countries buddy.
@William Jennings: I’ve given plenty of answers to your idiotic questions and the parroted extreme capitalist drivel you spout. Alas, you never listen.. Im still waiting for the actual facts and figures on the millions of dead people paid social security your WWEq hero chainsaw Musk uncovered.. records which he the deleted without providing one verifiable piece of information. Now in your own time Willam.. and do try not to use words like “if ” and ” most likely”. Facts. You’re not in Kansas now Dorothy.
@Brian: “You have chosen to mute William Jennings comments”. Try it. Works a treat.
@Brian: You’re diverting from the issue at hand again Brian. We’re discussing housing here, not Elon Musk. Why are you lying? You’ve offered no answers whatsoever to any of the questions that I’ve asked you. Socialism, where has it worked? Since you hate free-market economics, surely you must have tons of examples of where this alternative system works. It’s funny how left-wing you are that when I discuss basic economics facts, you throw a hissy fit and say that I’m “parroting extreme Capitalism.” It’s hilarious really. I’m pretty glad that you’re not in charge anywhere because if you were, the development of Ireland would be stunted even more by your opposition to the ability of people to freely make money based on their entrepreneurial skills and talents.
One development here in Cork City has been refused permission by An Bord Pleanála all because of a bus stop, another one of over 1300 homes refused permission in the Cork Dockland area again by An Bord Pleanála all because poor road infrastructure at a location 20KM away near Cobh. For over 50 years the residents of the Cobh area have been looking for an upgrade to the road network on the Island to no avail. When it comes to road infrastructure this country is an embarrassment.
@Leonard Barry: All this not happening with a Cork lead government. Mehole won’t even look after his own. He can’t even take a leaf out of the Healy Raes Book
@Criostoir Mac Raghnaill: Ah yeah,great example of parish pump politics….’look after his own’…’cork led government’
@Criostoir Mac Raghnaill: because he doesn’t work for Ireland anymore he works for the European overlords but we continue to pay him like morons with our taxes , we need change big time as it’s already becoming too late for the future generations
The number would be ok if the government didn’t put Irish people at the bottom of the queue for social housing
@Criostoir Mac Raghnaill: That number would be ok if people didn’t sit around and wait for everything to be handed to them….then not pay the little rent on it and wreck it.
It’s only March and already the government has thrown its hat in and resigned itself to failure, what hope have we got.
That’s 6000 non Irish without a home .
@Richie Whelan: EU
The election is over. Only difference between last year and this is they don’t feel they have to lie this year. Sure what do they have to worry about.
Every target will be missed for the coming year except unemployment.
The “government” (and I loosely use the term) are more interested in bullying the opposition into submission on givivg part of their speaking time to Lowry’s raving rabble!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: it’s the opposition who are attacking democracy, and it’s thanks to current and previous Govt that the country has full employment
@Johnny Wilson:
Please, don your logical cap rather than your FF/FG blindfold!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: employment data for the past few years isn’t hard to find, nor understand
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFEATIST ATTITUDE BY THE GOVERNMENT, OF COURSE THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF NEW DWELLINGS CAN BE ACHIEVED BY INCREASING THE LAND BANK THROUGH RELEASING STATE AND CHURCH OWNED VACANT LANDS WITHIN THE VARIOUS BOROUGHS, REDUCE V.A.T. ON BUILDING MATERIALS, AND INCREASE NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS A PRIORITY.
@5GKJ4Fgy:
And if they did all that in the morning, who would build them?
@P. J.: Such a fffg reply. Get the boat.
As long as the wealthy see housing here as a lucrative investment commodity, the housing crisis is going nowhere. More private investment isn’t going to solve anything, it just exponentially increases the wealth of the wealthy and their ability to outcompete people that are just looking to buy a home.
The Irish housing crisis is a multi billion euro industry that FFG have no intention of putting a stop to.
@P. J.: people would rather work in coffee shops and complain about high rent, than work on a building site and be able to afford to buy there own home.
@Paul Gorry: I’m in the building game 35 years and I’ve never seen such a shortage of every type of trade….any builder will tell you that.but you keep believing what you want.
What do you expect from this government 4 months in and no legislations no committees…no hope!!
@Joanne Stokes: the reason for no committees is down to the opposition, lead by the Shinners attacking democracy
@Joanne Stokes: -2 months with all the breaks they’ve already had
That’s going to be less than 30k
The key issue here is that the government doesn’t build houses and should not.
If u don’t make building houses profitable, none will be built. It’s pretty straight fw.
You also need foreign capital to build pats, again everyone seems to be against this and as a result they won’t invest and build.
@John Purcell: Only sensible comment so far.But the usual bunch in here love to blame the government on everything and expect the government to hand them everything.
@John Paul: the other issue is at local level nobody wants to build houses.
FF/FG at local level don’t want to build houses, as the ppl that vote for them want to maintain their house value. SF at local level don’t want houses built as it’s the only way for them to get elected.
It’s incredible.
a boxer property developer would be fit ! And able to build your dreams
be prepare for a good recession
Well no surprise there, they haven’t met any targets to date.
It’s obvious the government aren’t going to meet demand so this seems like an ideal time for the opposition parties to get together and form a building company/Co op to build the required houses needed, they can then sell them at below market price and show the government that it can be done.
I heard the same builders that are building the childrens hospital are going to be building the houses. So don’t hold your breath.
@Rian O’Callaghan: How would getting rid of Ukranains help? They don’t get houses – they are either in hotels or crappy centres
Targets not met, ok, wat are the repercussions here?? Fail to meet your targets in any other job then you’re in trouble & we’re talking about putting roofs over people’s heads here, real life stuff, so I say again, what are the repercussions for whoever is responsible for not meeting these targets!?
“You have chosen to mute Adam H2022 comments”.
@Luas Lips Houlihan – Dub Drag Queen: I have chosen to mute your f00lish comments. Wasting too much time!!!
have your say