Sinn Féin Councillor Conor McGuinness has said the final Housing Commission report is further evidence that the coalition parties have failed on housing. He said only a Sinn Féin government can deliver the radical change in housing policy necessary to drag the country of catastrophe.
The Housing Commission was established by Government in 2021 to examine housing policy and progress. Its final report was leaked to RTÉ last week as frustration grew over unwillingness by Government to publish it. The report castigate the government for its many failures on housing and called for a ‘radical strategic reset of housing policy’. It pointed to a shortfall of over 250,000 homes across the state and a litany of shortcomings and failures by the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition.
McGuinness said:
“The final report of the Housing Commission is a damning indictment of a failing government housing plan. If it hadn’t been leaked to RTÉ it is highly likely the Minister would have continued to allow the report gather dusk on his desk.
“The report talks about how ‘systemic failures’, ‘ineffective decision making’, ‘reactive policy making’ and ‘risk’ aversion’ are all impacting supply and ‘undermining affordability.’
“It accuses the government of a ‘failure to treat housing as a critical social and economic priority’. They also commented that despite having ‘one of the highest levels of public expenditure for housing, yet one of the poorest outcomes.’
Fine Gael have been in Government since 2011 – backed up initially by Labour and independents, and now in coalition with Fianna Fáil and the Greens. During that past 13 years rents have increased by 100%, house prices by 50% and child homelessness by 500%. €10 billion that could have been spent building houses has been paid into the private rental sector on schemes such as HAP that were only ever supposed to be emergency measures.
“The outworking of these failures are clear to see in West Waterford. Not one single affordable or cost rental home built in the area, no progress on affordable services sites, and no new social housing development either. This is despite the fact that I have gained political support locally for council houses at Shandon and a mixed development at Fairlane.
“We have seen delays after delay with the affordable scheme in Ardmore after the Minister rejected the first application. No doubt we will see some choreographed photo-ops on these sites between now and polling day, but believe me, people want to see houses there, not politicians in hard hats. No one is failing for their spin and cynical stunts.
“At the centre of the Commission’s report is a concern that the government has ignored what they term the housing deficit. This is the unmet need that has built up over the last decade. While the issue of the deficit has been well known for years, the Housing Commission has suggested that it would be as high as 256,000 extra homes above the current government’s targets.
“The Commission has also called for social and affordable housing delivery to increase to 20% of total housing stock. This would require at least half of all new homes to be affordable and social.
“The fact that a government-appointed body of experts have levelled such damning criticism at the government’s housing policy is further evidence that their own housing plan is not working.
“It is also clear that they have no intention of changing course now.
“Only a Sinn Féin-led government, backed up on councils with strong Sinn Féin representation, can deliver the radical reset of housing policy that the Housing Commission is calling for.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 