How to make sure you can keep on top of your energy bill and stay warm
Even with the heatwave over, it's still relatively warm, so most of us aren't thinking – yet – about sticking on the heating, or worrying about leaving the windows open.
But just as autumn is not far away, neither are costly energy bills – and the Government has already been fielding ministers to warn that there will be no cost-of-living supports in Budget 2026.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Short-term rentals a serious issue
The crisis in housing and accommodation is now such a well-established feature of Irish life that we are growing inured to contradictions in how that crisis is being addressed. Earlier this week, this newspaper reported the comments of a Government minister who was pleading on behalf of those involved in renting houses and apartments on a short-term basis. 'They didn't create the housing crisis in Ireland. Neither are they the solution to it,' said minister of state at the department of agriculture, Michael Healy-Rae. 'If you're the person who is presently at short-term accommodation, they shouldn't be hounded out of that business.' He argued that 'balance' is needed in this matter, but short-term letting is certainly having a huge impact on accommodation. As reported here earlier this week, 64% of the 34,000 houses advertised on short-term letting platforms in May offered people the 'entire' property, while in comparison there were 1,600 to 1,800 properties available for renters seeking long-term accommodation on in recent days. The same page of the Irish Examiner which featured the above story also reported that Limerick City and County Council is to encourage older people looking to downsize their homes to apply for a 'lifetime tenancy' at a new apartment development in the city. Under the terms of the scheme, an applicant sells their home on the market and gives the council 25% of the proceeds in return for that tenancy. The juxtaposition of these two stories illustrates the challenge of the housing crisis perfectly. On the one hand, a minister is advocating on behalf of short-term lets, while on the other hand, a local authority is trying to create long-term stable tenancies. Mr Healy-Rae may be correct in saying those renting their property on a short-term basis are not creating the crisis, but the scale of short-term letting is certainly contributing to that crisis. The Limerick initiative is a welcome alternative that other local authorities should study closely. Bridging old Gaelic traditions Yesterday was the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell, a figure from our past who is both a giant in Irish history yet somehow under-appreciated at the same time. Part of that may be the passage of time. O'Connell was approaching his considerable peak as a barrister and MP in the House of Commons the best part of two centuries ago, after all. Others in the pantheon of Irish history are not nearly as remote. It is also fair to say, as Mick Clifford argued in these pages this week, that O'Connell's stand against violence counts against him when it comes to inclusion in that pantheon. Blazing comets like Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone retain an aura of romance and dash which O'Connell, a skilled parliamentarian and advocate for non-violent protest, does not share. In that context, the Kerry native's decision to cancel the famous monster meeting planned for Clontarf in 1843 in order to avoid bloodshed has sometimes been depicted as the ultimate fork in the road of Irish history — although, as pointed out here by Clifford, there was no alternative open to O'Connell which would not have resulted in catastrophic loss of life. Such decisions should be seen as augmenting O'Connell's status in Irish history, however. Long experience should have taught us a good deal about the power of dogged commitment to peaceful methods, and the moral force a leader derives from such commitment. John Hume's decades of work in Northern Ireland is perhaps a useful analogue for O'Connell in modern terms. O'Connell can be seen as a figure bridging old Gaelic traditions of chieftainship and modern constitutional law, but he was also a hard-nosed politician. The story goes that after O'Connell secured Catholic emancipation, he was stopped on his way home to Derrynane, with a road worker asking the Liberator what emancipation would mean in real terms. 'What does it matter to you, my good man?' said O'Connell. 'You'll still be here breaking stones.' A noticeable void When it comes to political satire in Ireland, there can be a tendency to overestimate the impact of even gentle mockery. Political nerds like to debate how much damage Hall's Pictorial Weekly constant lampooning did to the coalition government of 1973-1977, for instance, or whether Scrap Saturday's impersonations of Charlie Haughey a generation later undercut that taoiseach's authority little by little. Is there a new entry in this — smallish — genre? As Paul Hosford pointed out here this week, Irish singer CMAT's new song Euro Country is scathing on Bertie Ahern, the Fianna Fáil taoiseach, and the country's economic crash. Sample lyric: 'All the big boys, all the Berties/All the envelopes, yeah, they hurt me/I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me.' With Mr Ahern circling a bid for president, he will hardly be grateful for this reminder of a truly dark period in our recent history, nor will his party. CMAT may be public enemy No 1 now in Fianna Fáil HQ, but the late Frank Kelly, a central figure in Hall's Pictorial Weekly, could offer some perspective on such matters. When the show was at its peak, Kelly met a politician who lambasted him at length for the mockery and impersonations — but ended by saying: 'If there's any chance of a mention, don't forget me.'
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
More imagination needed to solve the housing emergency
When the Government declared covid-19 an emergency, bureaucracy was set aside and targets were achieved in recognition of the common good. No matter how well-intentioned the Government is about solving the housing crisis, it will require a collaborative approach as effective as addressing the pandemic. While the recently revised National Development Plan (NDP) announcement of enhanced infrastructure investment, including over €30bn of investment in housing, is to be welcomed, a more imaginative approach is needed. At this stage, given rising homeless figures at over 14,000 - including 5,000 children - the need for housing is an emergency and should be declared as such. It's now time for all stakeholders to put their shoulder to the wheel including senior civil servants, local authorities, communities and citizens. There seems to be a sense in Government that only 35,000 new homes will be built per year, even though it has increased annual housing targets to 83,000. The pent-up demand of around 151,000 units in the National Planning Framework (NPF) is underestimated in comparison to those projected by the Housing Commission with a shortfall of up to 250,000 units identified. The NDP's revised aspiration of 300,000 new homes over the next five years will only be achieved if radical steps are taken. It is important to deal with the core issues impacting further supply of housing, in particular a lack of available zoned land for construction. Up until 2014 there was always a supply of land where builders could buy and sell zoned land with planning. Since the core strategy of finding sufficient zoned and serviced land to cater for future housing demand was implemented in 2014 and incorporated into the NPF in 2017/18, zoned land has been artificially constrained to the point that this market is non-functioning. Nature abhors a vacuum with almost the entirety of available zoned land purchased by investment funds and the Land Development Agency (LDA). This has resulted in small and medium-sized indigenous builders being forced to reduce output and increasingly going out of business due to an inability to acquire adequate sites. This is a key contributing factor as to why national target outputs are not being reached. To increase output as envisaged, there needs to be a functioning land market as existed pre-2014 where agents had a supply of this type of land and builders could purchase. Construction work at Waterfall Heights, by Bridgewater, at Waterfall Road, Bishopstown, Cork. Ireland now has the second highest proportionate housing expenditure in the EU. Picture Larry Cummins There is also the innate loyalty and stickability of the Irish domestic builder: the same cannot be said of developments funded by foreign capital. Having excess amounts of land zoned doesn't translate to bad planning – allowing badly planned development on zoned land causes bad outcomes. In recent years, the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has overseen the dezoning of land, much of which was serviced, based on a flawed NPF reliant on out-of-date ESRI model of future demand. The OPR's role must transition to one of 'implementor' - facilitating and overseeing domestic Irish construction companies throughout the country to build housing estates of 50-150 homes creating employment throughout various regions and rural Ireland. Indeed, in this capacity they can also oversee the necessary construction of large apartment complexes in cities and large towns, while also facilitating high-density compact housing estates on the periphery of cities and satellite towns. But while kickstarting smaller apartments is necessary to meet housing targets, encouraging a proportionate number of larger homes should also be considered to accommodate families. No further dezoning should be permitted without proven and solid grounds. What chance do large, medium or small developers have in securing funding for purchasing and building on serviced zoned land when the local authority, at the instruction of the Planning Regulator, can withdraw that zoning without notice. Funders or developers cannot operate in such a business environment. Lands dezoned in recent years should be rezoned by each relevant local authority. This, coupled with prioritised water and electricity supply schemes, would increase availability to build several thousand houses in the short term. Many housing developments are subject to Local Area Plans (LAPs) several of which have expired and therefore cannot be relied upon. Preparing masterplans is expensive and time consuming leading to planning application submission delays up to 12 to 18 months. This process needs to be streamlined and prioritised and LAPs need to be fast-tracked. Apprentice training schemes mentioned in the revised NDP are of course welcome, however, in the immediate term availability of trained personnel is not the problem. Recent lay-offs by indigenous companies points to this with others stating they are operating well below capacity. Reduced local authority levies and other costs within the State's control would be more effective, particularly in the short-term. The cost of building is also having a damaging impact on further vitally-needed supply. Dublin is the second most expensive city in Europe to build apartments with the cost of delivering a two-bed apartment around €600k in Dublin, and €460k to deliver a three-bed house. Ireland now has the second highest proportionate housing expenditure in the EU. Several Government initiatives have been introduced to address these costs including the Croi Conaithe Cities Scheme, First Home Equity Scheme, and the Help to Buy scheme among others. However, these demand-side subsidies have not had the desired impact and therefore need to be enhanced including a recalibration of the caps set for the First Home Equity and the Help to Buy Schemes, respectively, and allowing the payment support of the Croi Conaithe Cities scheme to be made upfront. Garry Keegan: 'The National Development Plan's revised aspiration of 300,000 new homes over the next five years will only be achieved if radical steps are taken.' The recently announced reduction in the minimum size requirement for apartments and other deregulations to increase the number of allowable units per core proves that the Custom House is listening to expert and experienced advice from the construction industry. More needs to be done to reduce the gap between construction costs and what can be achieved in the open market. By adopting the same collective approach as has been done in the recent past to address the most pertinent issue facing the State, only then will this current crisis be averted. Dr Garry Keegan is a former Dublin City councillor, former ESB board member and recently published Infrastructure Projects and Local Communities . He has worked on infrastructure and housing development projects over the past three decades.
Agriland
4 hours ago
- Agriland
Opinion: What constitutes an Irish tillage farmer must be clearly defined
The recent income projections calculated by Teagasc highlight the need to clearly define what constitutes the term 'an Irish tillage farmer'. The current scenario allows for livestock income from subsidiary livestock enterprises to be included within a tillage enterprise assessment. And herein lies the problem. The projected increase in tillage incomes published by Teagasc can be entirely attributed to the increase in cattle prices recorded over recent months. So what about the 4,000 Irish tillage farmers whose enterprises are centred entirety on the growing of crops? They are now looking at a scenario within which they have no option but to absorb the 10% reduction in international grain prices, recorded over the past year. And it doesn't take Albert Einstein to work out that their incomes will be impacted accordingly. So the question arises: should Teagasc and, for that matter, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) introduce a new and additional tillage definition which recognises those farmers that grow crops exclusively? It is an issue that has much more than abstract farm income assessments linked to it. For example, over the coming weeks the government will be finalising its plans linked to Budget 2026. It would be very easy for ministers to take a peripheral look at the recent Teagasc income assessments, and conclude that the tillage sector is on an upward economic trajectory. In reality, however, very large numbers of farmers who commit to solely growing crops are continuing to make more than significant losses. This is the real story of Irish tillage in 2025. Moreover, it is on the basis of such assessments that decisions to support - or not to support - the tillage sector will be made. And this principle is equally relevant for the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review as it is for Budget 2026. Ireland's Climate Change Act contains a fundamental commitment to expand the footprint of the tillage sector. The target that has been set is a cropping area of 400,000ha by 2030. However, we are still some 70,000ha short of this projection. And, at the end of the day, it is those farmers committed to the growing of crops only who have the wherewithal to expand the tillage sector. They have the equipment and genuine know how to make this happen in the most efficient way possible. It would make absolute sense for government to recognise this fundamental reality.
