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SOCIAL DEMOCRATS CO-LEADER Catherine Murphy has criticised the level of staffing at the unit tasked with delivering thousands of new homes in Ireland.
In response to a parliamentary question from Murphy, new housing minister Eoghan Murphy confirmed the ‘Housing Delivery Office’ comprises a team of four people led by former county architect and chief executive of Fingal County Council David O’Connor.
The Social Democrats TD described the staffing level as “completely inadequate”.
“This dedicated unit was supposed to support the accelerated delivery of housing – how can it possibly do that with only four staff?” she said.
“We need to boost housing supply on a massive scale to resolve the housing crisis. That will only happen if the government takes a hands-on approach to ensuring homes are actually built.”
She pointed out that the number of homes under construction is well behind the level of demand in the country.
As long as this is the case, house prices and rents will continue to rise and become ever more unaffordable. As one example of how bad the problem is, only 665 social housing units were constructed last year – yet there are more than 90,000 people on housing waiting lists.
“The bottom line is that we need to add thousands of new homes to our housing stock as quickly as we can and in a sustainable way. It is little wonder there is such a delay in achieving this if the government is dependent on a core team of just four people,” Murphy said.
She added that the staff numbers in this unit demonstrates the “lack of urgency at the heart of government about the housing emergency”.
‘Progress’
Minister Murphy said the team members have extensive expertise in project management, finance, planning and local government, including people seconded from the local government sector and the National Development Finance Agency.
He also said these staff members work with a range of “highly experienced technical officers” within the department, other key agencies, local authorities and the construction sector.
The team, he said, works at “identifying and resolving barriers to delivery, and monitors progress across key sites as they progress”.
So far, they have completed a review of the social housing approval and delivery process, developed a framework to track the development of urban housing delivery sites, and set up a database of suitable housing-zoned land in the ownership of the State and semi-State bodies.
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They will go up regardless now thats its been talked about
@bruce banner: i was just thinking the same…..its the next big excuse to be used…… It will make a change from everything costing 50%more because of Brexit and the war in Ukraine excuse
@bruce banner: Exactly. All companies need id s whiff of an excuse and they jack up the price to twice what any increase would be. It was already shown in a large study in America that 50% of all price increases during the covid affected inflationary period were just pure profiteering.
Another golden opportunity to fleece us
@Ross McAndrew: or an opportunity to find the Golden Fleece
@Ross McAndrew:
Don’t allow anyone to fleece you
All you have to do don’t purchase
very simple but everyone must do it
You will have no impact if just a few people do it
@Donal: that’s true, good advice too :)
If this puts an extra €5 on Jack Daniel’s,it will now make it €24.99 a bottle. Do ya know what,I don’t care. I’m still gonna buy it,and party like it’s €19.99
@Larry Betts: excellent
We criminally pay more for everything in Ireland than the rest of the eu . Insurance. / energy / mortgage … you name it , we pay more for everything.
The Irish government NEVER address this imbalance? Why ?
@BL Music: because they’re the cause/beneficiary of it.
Let the gouging begin!
“The EU has threatened before to place 50% tires on American whiskey,” I wonder if this is the cause of inflation if they continue to pump up the prices…..
@Larry Betts: wrong thread
The world is a con and an illusion. Why they think this is the best system for the people who vote for them to represent us makes no sense.
When they could put a system in place that still lines their pockets but at the same time makes our everyday lives better.
Just when I thought that the EU had run out of ways to screw businesses and lair on more extra costs, they come out with this nonsense. You don’t put out a fire by adding more gasoline to it. By doing reciprocal tariffs, all they are doing is feeding into Trump’s narrative that they are engaging in unfair trading practices and that his tariff increases are justified. The EU already slaps a 10% tariff on cars, a 50% tariff on dairy products, a 20% tariff on cereal grains, a 25% tariff on alcoholic beverages and a 25% tariff on steel + aluminium among other American products. The EU should be looking to get Trump to the negotiating table to discuss a reduction in tariffs, not provoking him further. This is one of the things that I hate about the EU. They are economically illiterate.
@William Jennings: Whats the avg weighted EU tariff William? What’s the US’s? I’ll tell you. It’s 1.6% for the EU and 1.61% for the US as per World Bank. As I have explained to you before, the EU imposes a tariff of 10% on imported cars to protects its manufacturers as cars are the big selling vehicles in the EU. The US on the other hand is 2.5% but cars are not big sellers in the US. It’s mainly pick ups/4x4s/SUVs. The US imposes a 25% tariff on these. So I’m sure you agree 25% is larger than 10% therefore it’s the US that is screwing others over, right? And I’m sure in any negotiations Trump would lower this tariff right? No he wouldn’t because he wants to protect American manufacturers.
Everything is priced to they think society is prepared to pay. If it’s overpriced it doesn’t sell.
We need government price controls.The ‘coalition’ are clueless and don’t give a damn about the mess they have and continue to make of our once proud nation. They have put housing out of the reach of our young( the ones that are still here!).Our ‘normal’ working population is dwindling….expect pension age to be increased to 75 shortly. How come one can purchase a perfectly habitable house in the UK for c.€150,00. In France, Spain, you can buy a house with a pool for similar money but yet in Ireland you are expected to pay the same for a rusty galvanised walls falling down cattle shed that cost even more money to dismantle it before you start the rebuild! The so called Government grants are only being added on to over inflate the buying price. Young people haven’t got a chance.
How to achieve net zero in a subversive way.
Lower taxes on gastronomy and locally produced alcohol!
So long as the price of condoms doesn’t rise(!!), I’ll be fine.
@Harry Callahan: If it doesn’t rise, use Viagara. If nothing else,it’ll stop you rolling out of bed in the middle of the night.
have your say