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.
US VICE PRESIDENT Mike Pence stuck strongly to the Trump administration’s position on Brexit during press comments alongside the Taoiseach in Dublin this afternoon, as he urged Ireland and the EU to negotiate “in good faith” with new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Taoiseach had said he would use today’s meeting with Pence to further outline and explain Ireland’s position, and in the joint appearance at Farmleigh today Varadkar said Ireland must “stand our ground” on the withdrawal agreement negotiated between the EU and Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.
He asked Pence, as they stood at separate podiums in front of a small army of Irish and American reporters, to “bring that message back to Washington with you”.
Speaking at Shannon yesterday after being welcomed to the country by Tánaiste Simon Coveney Pence said the US would work closely with Ireland and the UK “to support a Brexit plan that encourages stability and also one that keeps the strong foundation forged by the Good Friday Agreement”.
His remarks on Brexit this afternoon were stronger than many had been expecting, but are in keeping with recent comments by President Trump himself and other senior administration figures.
Trump has made no secret of his support for Brexit. He said UK could expect a “very big trade deal” in the wake of Brexit after a breakfast meeting with Johnson at the G7 recently.
Speaking to the press after being hosted for lunch by the Taoiseach and his partner Matt Barrett today, Pence said that while he recognised the “unique challenges” posed by the border he encouraged Ireland and the UK to work together.
He went on to call on Ireland and the EU to negotiate in good faith with Johnson to secure a deal that “respects the UK’s sovereignty”.
He added that the US was also seeking Ireland’s support in negotiating a new trade agreement with the EU.
Varadkar, in his remarks, said the two had discussed the vital role the US had played in the peace process in the North. Highlighting the role of Republicans in the decades-long process, he noted Ronald Reagan’s role in convincing Margaret Thatcher to sign the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement.
“The UK’s decision to travel a different course to ours risks being deeply disruptive, especially for the people of Northern Ireland, where most people voted to stay in Europe,” Varadkar said in his remarks on Brexit.
“Divergence between the UK and the EU means that the return of a hard border on this island is a very real risk.
“I know that you understand the impact a hard border will have on us on this island – barriers to the free movement of people and frictionless trade, barriers to North/South co-operation, the risk that the Good Friday Agreement and peace will be undermined.
That is why we must stand our ground on the Withdrawal Agreement. An Agreement which was carefully negotiated to overcome all these risks.
And so, Mr Vice President I ask, that you bring that message back to Washington with you.
Trump greetings
Pence, who consistently referred to Ireland as the ‘Emerald Isle’ in his comments, said he brought the greetings of US President Donald Trump, and thanked the Taoiseach for his welcome.
After going into some detail on his own Irish links, he then went on to refer at length to the ongoing response to Hurricane Dorian, in remarks aimed squarely at a domestic US audience.
Reading from an autocue, Pence went on to list the various business links between Ireland and the US.
Referencing US military use of Shannon – which, of course, has long been a contentious issue in Ireland – he thanked the State for its “hospitality” in recent years.
The Vice President said he had been happy to welcome Varadkar and his partner to his home in Washington earlier this year and that it had been an honour to meet the Taoiseach’s parents today.
The Varadkars had joined Pence and his party for lunch earlier in the afternoon: Second Lady Karen Pence, his mother Nancy Pence-Fritsch and his sister Ann Poynter are accompanying the Vice President on his Irish visit.
The two leaders did not take questions from the room after their press statements. Pence ignored a shouted question about Brexit as they left.
All of Pence’s Dublin engagements today were confined to the Phoenix Park. The Vice Presidential party paid a courtesy visit to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin earlier today, and was due at the US Ambassador’s residence for talks with business leaders after he left Farmleigh.
He will stay overnight at Trump Doonbeg again tonight before leaving the country tomorrow on route to further European engagements, including a planned meeting with Johnson in London.
About 50 protesters, carrying rainbow flags and playing music, held a ‘Disco at the Dáil’ on Kildare Street this afternoon to mark Pence’s presence in the country in an event organised by Amnesty Ireland.
The Vice President, a former governor of Indiana, has long been criticised for his views on LGBT rights and abortion.
“We want to show him, and people that support him, that we’re a different country now, so that he can’t go back to the USA and say there is any support for his policies here,” organisers said.
- With reporting by Andrew Roberts
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ironically my rent is more than a mortgage would be…
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: yep. My wife and I tried to buy an apartment we lived in. We were was paying 1800 per month rent. Talked to the bank and the mortgage payments over 35 years worked out at 1145 per month. But because we had child, and were paying back a loan for our wedding and 1 car the bank told us we couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage. Only in Ireland could you told you can’t afford something despite it savings us over 600 per month.
@Roy Dowling: I agree. You can afford to rent and keep your kids alive… Nope you’re a liability to the banks.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: it’s not going to last much longer.. it never did.. there has to be a down turn.. this time ten years ago the county was full of houses.. cheap houses..
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: it’s about the risk to the bank, and the mortgage lending rules. When renting, the risk in on the landlord. If you have the mortgage, the risk is on you. They pressure test to ensure that you could still afford the mortgage if one of you lost your income etc. If that happened when you are renting, it’s the landlords problem, not the banks
@Elaine Phelan: That only makes sense if they weren’t already living in the apartment paying 600 more to rent it with all the same debt. Mortgage risk currently isn’t factoring in rent paid and how long it’s been paid for. They ask about it but it doesn’t count anything toward ability to pay.
Plus you can’t draw down a Mortgage until you get Mortgage insurance so the actual risk for the banks is very limited.
@Shane Carroll: you missed the point. It’s about risk. Yes you can pay your rent, but if you lose your job it is the landlords problem, and you can move somewhere else or move back with family. Loosening the mortgage rules without increasing supply will just drive higher prices with increasing demand, so you would likely still be priced out, but now the people who did buy will have paid more and have a bigger mortgage for the same houses. Supply is the key issue here.
@Shane Carroll: add in the fact that they would have 7 grand a year spare from not renting and that would more than cover the stress test and all the hidden costs from owning a property.
Tbf to the banks this housing crisis is purely a supply issue mainly due to government policy for the last decade and the banks 3.5 lending regulations is the only thing keeping some sort of a lid on the prices insane and all as they are.
@Elaine Phelan: agreed but anyone can lose their job. If the banks were overly concerned about that they wouldn’t give mortgages to most people on average income or below. We’re in incredibly uncertain times economically and there’s record mortgage approvals. I’ve been approved for a mortgage and I’ve only got a 12 month contract!
@Shane Carroll: with 3.5 times salary only, and reductions based on children etc, most people could survive for a little while if they lost their job. But if they start to give out more than that, and take into account what rent people are paying, it will do nothing but drive prices up
Ireland is a great place for investors!! Wouldn’t be great if the Government did something about it? Someone renting for life is not a solution.. I’m not asking the government to give me a house, I would love to be able to build something without so much paper work and bureaucracy.. don really get what’s the obsession in Ireland with houses that are attached together for premium prices? For 430k people should deserve at least a detached house with a nice piece of land!
The government has faiiled people in their 20/30/40s miserably the last decade.from the banking crash where people couldn’t get a job so had to emigrate to now people can’t buy a house to settle down as not enough building of houses and prices sky rocketing.the government should hang their heads in shame.
@speedy: is there a silver bullet that the government can do to fix it? Giving planning permission too loosely will just mean poorly built housing in over dense developments
@dublindamo: I would suggest a huge public housing increase where the county council are renting nearly at cost with so many houses that they become the default land lord for most people. That drives private rents down and allows people to save for a morgage to buy or build their own homes. Turn rent into a just a transitional phase that is not for profit so people can become rate paying home owners building equity.
@speedy: allow the people who’ve been blacklisted over losing their homes in the crisis to have a mortgage. No deposit because it’s impossible to save when forking out sky high rent. This simple solution would solve the problem at a stroke. Why can’t our government get to grips with this? It’s unfair, inequitable and a crying shame.
The people I know who are renting or living at home, have lovely cars, know all the restaurants and have a well used passport and nice clothes every week!
I am looking to buy a house in Cork. I have been watching both the rental market and the buyers market on Daft for a while now. I’m amazed the amount of times I see a house for rent, then for sale and then for rent again at way more than the 4%. I’m self employed and over 40, have a 60+% deposit and can’t get a mortgage. It kills me every month to pay out 1800 in rent when I know my mortgage would only be about 900 pm.
Small landlords are leaving the market as soon as possible. Just ask any estate agent or look at the photos of empty properties for sale on Daft with no forward chain. Only a tiny proportion of properties are being bought by small landlords. Being a small landlord in Ireland now is nothing only hassle, high taxes, impossibility of evicting non paying vandalising tenants, being on call 24 hours a day, keeping up to date with new laws etc. The big funds will take over the market, pay little or no tax and only takes the top tier tenants.
Headline here is very misleading. Most people would pay less for a mortgage than they are in rent. The red tape and bull that people have to go through when applying or a mortgage is what makes it impossible. Not that they can’t afford it.
@Jess Foley: it’s not about whether you can afford it today. It’s about risk the bank. If you are renting, it’s the landlords problem. If you have a mortgage, it’s the banks problem. The mortgage rules Re actually the only thing keeping house prices where they are. If they open them up without increasing supply, all that will happen is that prices will rise even more, and people will end up with bigger mortgages for the same houses
I am blue in the face saying this. NOTHING will improve until you vote out all the landlords who are TD’s. Do a bit of research and you’ll find that affordable housing is NOT in their best interests. In any other country in the world it would be seen as a conflict of interest. We cannot solve a housing problem until we have politicians who are willing to solve it! So the longer you vote for FG and FF – the longer you will be paying crazy rent!
My rent is more than what I would pay for the same property in mortgage payments. It’s crazy.
We’re we not told be the landlords association that small or non professional landlords were fleeing the market in there 1000s because of bad experience . That’s clearly untrue if you go with the figures provide in the article .
@Airwave81: that is backed up in the article. In fact the subheading says “The RTB survey founds that the profile of landlords is changing, with large landlords looking to expand their portfolios.”
@Airwave81: another paragraph from the article: “The survey found that 26% of small landlords, owners of one or two properties, are planning to sell a rental property within the next five years. However, large landlords (with over 100 tenancies) say they are planning to continue to invest and expand their portfolios.”
36% is not accurate at all, its more like 50% or even more.
Cheapest studios ate like 1100€ in Dublin
I don’t think this survey reflects the true extent of the problem of high rents. It would be much more revealing if they had used a set of income bands for respondents and had them provide the actual monthly figure they paid for rent and used that to crunch the data.
Because asking them to guesstimate a percentage, introduces respondent error and because by apparently lumping them all together, the higher paid respondents data reduces the percentage overall.
Because in reality for the lower paid, the percentage of income going on rent would be much higher across the entire country, but especially in Dublin and other cities.
As a junior public servant I spend 44.7% of my income on rent in rural Ireland. Only one income as I support an unwell partner. The concept of saving enough for a deposit to get a morgage that would half my monthly housing expenses is a pipe dream for me.
@Edmund Murphy: Thankfully my letting agents are very good to me because the rent I pay still eow market rate in my area.
DeFi is where its at now, forget the banks
So many comments about mortgages being lower than rent. It is not about whether you can afford it today. It’s about risk for the bank. If you are renting, it’s the landlords problem. If you have a mortgage, it’s the banks problem. The mortgage rules are actually the only thing keeping house prices where they are. If they open them up without increasing supply, all that will happen is that prices will rise even more, and people will end up with bigger mortgages for the same houses. Supply is the key issue, not giving out larger mortgages
The 3.5 times your gross is keeping people locked out of the mortgage market despite being able to afford rents that are higher than mortgage repayments
@Darren Carroll: but loosening the rules won’t solve anything. All it would to is drive up demand and prices. The issue is there is not enough supply
Time to leave again for young people
have your say