Housing for All update shows Government spin over substance

Housing for All update shows Government spin over substance

Labour leader and housing spokesperson Ivana Bacik has called out Government for failing to deliver on housing.

Deputy Bacik said:

"Once again it's a matter of spin over substance coming from the office of the Taoiseach and Custom House. The Housing for All progress report lacks detail and crucially lacks any evidence of delivery.

"Less than a month ago, the Taoiseach committed to increasing housing targets to 250,000 - but this looks set to be a number engineered for electioneering purposes rather than indicating any real increase in delivery.

"It's hard to overstate the crisis so many face in this country when it comes to housing. Families petrified of being kicked out of their rented accommodation through no fault of their own, young people who have lost the hope of ever owning their own home.

"Housing for All is totally skewed towards those who have the means to begin with. While there's uptake in the vacant property refurbishment grant, this grant excludes so many prospective house buyers who simply cannot afford to pay the costs up front and wait for the monies to come back in time.

"Similarly the CPO Activation Programme lacks any detail on the funding provided. The Government has refused to provide the mechanisms needed to properly address the vacancy and dereliction crisis to councils. It remains legally complex for councils to CPO properties, and the Government is just putting gloss over their failure to address the issue in a meaningful manner.

"Over the last number of weeks I have engaged in extensive debates on the Planning and Development Bill at the Housing Committee. Labour's proposals on amendments which would help to stamp out the greed that exists in the planning system remain on the pile of papers on the Minister's desk. These should be acted on immediately to speed up the delivery of homes.

"All in all, the Government are not delivering enough homes for people who need them. Their lack of ambition and lack of delivery is having a damaging impact on so many people.

"The lack of a secure home damages people emotionally, socially, economically, and leaves them devoid of choice or a sense of autonomy over their lives. Housing is the greatest crisis that working people face in this country. We need to see swift delivery across local authorities and that requires more ambition and urgency from Government - it needs the leadership which this conservative coalition still lacks."