The Irish Times view on marriage equality ten years on: an Irish milestone
The tenth anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, which falls next week, offers an opportunity to reflect on one of the most consequential events in modern Irish social history.
Ireland was the first country in the world to put to a popular vote the question of whether to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples. The 62 per cent to 38 per cent vote in favour was the clearest evidence to date that the country had undergone a profound shift towards greater tolerance, respect and equality for all its citizens.
The referendum must also be seen against the wider international backdrop of the most successful civil rights movement in modern democratic politics, as LGBTQ people across the world asserted their existence after centuries of repression.
The change in Ireland was particularly swift. Within just over two decades, the State went from being a place where certain consensual sexual acts between adults were a criminal offence to one where the rights of all, regardless of sexual orientation, would be vindicated.
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The Yes Equality campaign, with its focus on personal stories and its appeal to empathy and respect for individual dignity, would also provide a template for the successful campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment three years later.
But the origins of the 2015 referendum go back further, to small groups of activists in the 1970s and 1980s who organised the first Pride events, set up resources like the Hirschfeld Centre, and began the long process of lobbying for reform. Lesbians and gay men were no longer prepared to accept institutional discrimination, police harassment and irrational prejudice. Their most high-profile and effective spokesman was David Norris, who became the first openly gay member of the Oireachtas when elected to the Seanad in 1987, but there were many others.
The story of the struggle for LGBTQ rights in Ireland is one of persistence and determination in the face of an obdurate and often hostile legal and political establishment. But it is also about a deeper shift in public opinion. Homophobia became socially unacceptable as attitudes changed and gay people felt able to express their true selves.
Sadly, that process of change is not complete. Members of the LGBTQ community still feel unsafe or unwanted in some places, including public spaces. That is unacceptable. Ireland is not immune to the reactionary intolerance which is on the rise elsewhere. The passage last year of the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act acknowledges that lesbian, gay and trans people, along with other groups, are particularly vulnerable to criminality and acts of violence motivated by prejudice. It is entirely right that this is now taken into account by the courts in sentencing, in recognition of the LGBTQ community's right to safety and security.
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Irish Times
35 minutes ago
- Irish Times
A key plank of Ireland's social housing delivery now hangs in the balance
There are debates about where the State should and should not get involved in the housing market – but no argument that one area where it needs to step in is the provision of social housing for those who do not have the resources to rent or buy in the private market. Like many areas of the housing market, there are shortages here, as shown via long local authority housing lists and homelessness figures. So when a key Government scheme to provide more social housing is in danger of falling apart, it is noteworthy and the circumstances need to be examined. It is also clear that the decision of the Government to pull out of a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement to provide almost 500 social houses puts the whole process of using these kinds of deals to build social houses for local authorities in doubt. With future deals in the pipeline due to deliver another 1,000 social homes, this poses questions for the Government and Minister for Housing James Browne . [ Why is the housing crisis Ireland's most enduring failure? Opens in new window ] Late last week, as first reported in The Journal, Government officials deciding to pull the plug on a pubic private partnership programme where a private investment consortium was to deliver almost 500 social homes in Dublin, Kildare, Sligo and Wicklow. READ MORE The reason, according to the Department of Housing, was on cost grounds, with the decision made 'on a value for money basis.' Minister for Housing James Browne has said the department and the relevant local authorities remain fully committed to delivering the social housing in PPP Bundle three. Photograph Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times Nobody is saying much about the exact circumstances of this, but we can safely assume that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was heavily involved. A key unanswered question is why it took the Government so long to decide to pull the plug on a deal where a preferred bidder had been chosen six months ago, at which time the cost details were all known. These public/private partnerships had become an important route for delivery of social homes. Close to 1,000 homes were delivered under the first two partnership programmes, or ' bundles' as they are called. The one which has now been cancelled was to be the so-called Bundle three. Four more bundles are in the pipeline involving around 3,000 further homes and the Department says these are now being reviewed. Given the cost issues with Bundle three, there must now be serious doubt about whether these will go ahead. So a key plank of Government social housing delivery now hangs in the balance. PPPs involve a range of players. The houses are financed and constructed by a consortium – involving financiers, builders and housing managers – who then provide maintenance and tenancy management services for a 25-year period. The homes remain in the ownership of the local authorities and are handed back to them after the end of the 25-year period. The preferred bidders for Bundle three – who had also built out the second bundle – was a consortium called Torc , led by international financiers Equitix and the Kajima Partnerships. The consortium also involves construction companies JJ Rhatigan and the Spanish firm, Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHLA). Tenancy management services are provided by Tuath Housing and facilities management by Derwent for a 25-year service period. Minister Browne has said that the department and the relevant local authorities remain fully committed to delivering the social housing in PPP Bundle three through 'an alternative procurement and delivery strategy.' Planning permission has been granted in all cases and while the department will not comment on what happens next, one possible course of action would be for the local authorities to seek tenders to get the houses built, operating on a more traditional basis which does not involve a PPP contract to manage and maintain the properties afterward. Another option would be to re-enter talks with the consortium to see if the deal could be saved, or even if it might move forward on a different basis. Sources close to the consortium say it is keen to look at all the options. Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin has called on the Government to provide funding to the local authorities to ensure that the houses are delivered as soon as possible. Ó'Broin has been critical of the PPP model in the past arguing that it does not deliver best value for the State. The build costs under previous two social housing PPPs have appeared broadly in line with the market, he said, but significant additional costs are built into the contract for financing, maintenance and management over the subsequent 25 years, raising questions about value for money. Dealing with problems which emerge can also be complicated for tenants, he says, given the complexity of the arrangements. The Dáil Public Accounts Committee also questioned the value-for-money achieved through expenditure of €639 million on the first two bundles of PPPs which delivered almost 1,000 social housing units in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Clare, Kildare, and Roscommon. The total construction and life cycle costs were approximately €640,000 per unit, it pointed out. A breakdown of this figure was not provided to the committee beyond it being told that actual construction costs per unit were €222,000 and €277,000 respectively for the first two bundles. The PAC said it was 'concerned that it cannot evaluate whether the units delivered through this PPP programme represent good value-for-money, as commercial sensitivity means the total cost, minus construction costs, in the tenderers' models will remain confidential 'until a specified period of time has elapsed'.' Now, it appears, this value for money issue has come to a head. Sources say that the per unit cost – including construction but also all the other expenditure over the 25-year period – has risen sharply beyond the €640,000 per unit referenced in the PAC report, due – presumably – to rising build costs and general inflation. Some sources say that the increase could have been 20 -25 per cent or more per unit, though the figure could not be confirmed. The costs appear to have sounded alarm bells in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (Dper). What is odd is that this seemed to take so long to happen – the preferred consortium had been chosen last October, there had been extensive contacts since then, contracts were about to be signed and builders were close to going on site. Crucially, sources close to the consortium say that there had been no increase in the costs involved in the project since last October, when it had been chosen as the preferred bidder. So why did it take so long for the plug to be pulled? The agreement would have been assessed by Dper under what is called a public sector benchmark, to ensure value for money as compared to other possible forms of delivery. But this would presumably have been done before the preferred bidden decision. The Minister for Housing says that it is determined to get the projects moving in some form. But the questions now are what delivery mechanism will be used, what will it cost and, crucially, what the delay will now be in delivery. Public procurement rules will be an issue here in finding a way forward. Sources believe that with bundle three now in trouble, the subsequent four – which are at varying stages in the process and which were set on up exactly the same basis – are also now in doubt. The Department says that these will be reviewed 'to ensure the most appropriate procurement strategies for the delivery of these homes is selected and advanced.' This would appear to indicate uncertainty about the whole PPP approach. In turn this means problems for one area of social housing delivery on which the Government and the local authorities would have been relying to help to meet targets. It also sends out some decidedly mixed messages to international investors at a time when the Government is trying to attract more of them to build here under its rental reform programme. Had the plug been pulled late last year, when the costs were clear and before a preferred bidder was appointed, then there would have been more time to reassess the best way forward. Now, however, there is a messy situation with the bidding consortium and most other players – including the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) who helps advise on these bundles – all apparently taken unawares. The consortium has also spent significant amounts of money, including hiring staff, with a reasonable expectation that the deal would go ahead. While sources close to the consortium say they wish to find a way forward, legal action – potentially- delaying matters further must surely be a possibility if some compromise is not found. This one still has a way to run and it is difficult to see how the delivery of the planned social housing will not now be subject to serious delay.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Central Bank's role in approving Israeli bonds can be traced back to Brexit
It is something else that can be blamed on Brexit. When Britain decided to leave the EU in 2016 it no longer belonged to the European bond market. The market allows sovereign states to raise finance by issuing bonds that they pay back over time. The European Prospectus Regulation for bonds deemed that one European state would be the 'home state' that would determine if a non- EU state selling bonds had the financial wherewithal to trade the bonds in EU markets. The state would be chosen not by the EU but by the country selling the bonds. Until 2016 Britain was the country which decided if a bond prospectus offered by Israel could be approved for sale in the EU. When Brexit happened, Israel decided that Ireland should fulfil that role. It wasn't the only one to do so in recent years. At an interesting meeting of the Oireachtas finance committee yesterday, Gerry Cross of the Central Bank told Shay Brennan (Fianna Fáil) that seven other countries had also done so in recent years: Georgia; Turkey; The Maldives; Côte d'Ivoire; Armenia, Benin and Ukraine. To quote Macbeth: what's done is done and cannot be undone. Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf told the committee that only Israel can decide to use another state to be the home country unless the EU at political level does what it did with Russia and imposes sanctions against Israel. Given the ties between some EU states and Israel, that's very unlikely to happen. Mr Makhlouf, Mr Cross and deputy governor Mary-Elizabeth McMunn told the committee that the EU regulation was strict; they could only make the approval determination based on financial stability criteria and not on wider geopolitical considerations. Effectively their hands were tied. READ MORE This issue was a dominant one in political discourse again this week, with a second Dáil vote in as many sitting weeks over the bonds last night. This time the vote was on a Social Democrats motion and again it was defeated. As Marie O'Halloran reports, two Independent TDs who support the Government – Gillian Toole and Barry Heneghan – voted against the Coalition. The debate last night revolved around the same issues. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe both took exception in the Dáil and other forums to the accusation from the Opposition that the Government was somehow complicit in the genocide because the Central Bank approves the bonds. Martin completely rejected the assertion at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting last night. He has argued that the Central Bank was independent in its role, and that its determination was a technical one based solely on financial criteria. Still, Ireland's unwanted status has made everybody uncomfortable. Meeting offers further details on bonds The three-hour meeting of the finance committee was interesting in that we learned that for all the trouble they have caused the returns from the bonds in Europe are relatively modest. Israel has raised between €100 and €130 million from the bonds, Mr Makhlouf said. He said the Israeli government website marketing its 'war bonds' had stated it had sold bonds worth €5 billion. He said the EU accounted for only a fraction of that, with the US accounting for the bulk of it. On what the bank can and can't do, he said: 'The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law. It is for international bodies such as the UN or the EU to determine how to respond to breaches or alleged breaches of international law.' Mr Cross, director for capital markets at the bank, confirmed that the Central Bank fees for the approval of Israeli bonds between October 2023 and May this year was €13,300. The EU prospectus is due for renewal in September. When asked by Ged Nash (Labour) if there were new issues to be considered, Mr Makhlouf said the 'intensity of the conflict in Gaza probably does put a question mark [on] whether the financial viability of the state still remains secure'. He added: 'The European Union has indicated that it's going to look at its co-operation agreement with Israel, and I think that's a factor, the fact that the finance minister [Bezalel Smotrich] has just been sanctioned by a number of countries.' However, he said it should not be taken as granted that the prospectus would not be renewed. Asked by Mr Nash about how employees of the Central Bank have reacted to its role approving Israeli bonds, Mr Makhlouf said that the views in the bank were a reflection of the view across society. 'They range [from] people who are very sympathetic to one side of the debate, but also people who are sympathetic to the other side of the debate,' he said. Fallout of Arts Council ICT project continues The Oireachtas committee on media and arts returned for a second time in recent weeks to its examination of the implications of a partially abandoned ICT project that cost the Arts Council €7 million and also cost its director Maureen Kennelly her job – Minister for Arts Patrick O'Donovan made the decision that her contract was not to be renewed. The Arts Council has become the fall guy taking most of the blame for the failure. But yesterday the committee, chaired by Labour TD Alan Kelly, honed in on the action, or lack of action, by the then Department of Arts in the matter. Ms Kennelly told the committee that the council had written to the department some 60 times in relation to difficulties with the project. It was disclosed that the department never escalated the issue to senior management beyond principal officer level. Jack Horgan-Jones has the details of how the department's shortcomings were discussed during the meeting. Pepper sprays Paul Gogarty with shouting Jack Horgan-Jones reports on a stand-off between Independent TD Paul Gogarty and two anti-immigrant Dublin city councillors, Malachy Steenson and Gavin Pepper. Both shouted him down when he tried to speak. Mr Gogarty had been addressing a group of protesters objecting to the prospective State purchase of the Citywest Hotel, which is being used to accommodate people seeking international protection. He did not get very far in his contribution. He opened his remarks with a 'preamble', saying that he did not condone any form of racism or abuse. 'I wasn't allowed to finish my preamble,' he said. Best Reads Miriam Lord gives a peerless example of how an unmissable 900-word column can be constructed from a single line . No smokers without fire, that should be her motto. Emmet Malone has a comprehensive Q&A piece on how errors were made in calculating the pensions of certain politicians and civil servants. Seanín Graham reports that after weeks of speculation, a £50 million (€59 million) investment was offered by the British government to redevelop the derelict Casement Park GAA stadium in Belfast. It's good news but there is still a £90 million shortfall of the estimated £260 million cost to transform the dilapidated site. Playbook Dáil 08.47: Parliamentary Questions: Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris 10.23: Parliamentary Questions: Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee 12.00: Leaders' Questions 12.34: Other Members' Questions 12.42: Questions on Policy or Legislation 13.52: Government Business: Statements on Fisheries 16.17: Government Business: Statements on Nursing Homes and Care for Older Persons 18.17: Topical Issues 19.17: Private Members' Bill: Criminal Law (Prohibition of the Disclosure of Counselling Records) Bill, 2025 – Second Stage 21.17: Dáil adjourns Seanad 09.30: Commencement Matters 10.30: Order of Business 13.00: Government Business: Statements on delivering a world class education system, which breaks down barriers and ensures every child can achieve their full potential 14.30: Seanad adjourns Committees Defence and National Security 09.30: Pre-legislative scrutiny of a general scheme: Defence Amendment Bill, 2025 Fisheries and Maritime Affairs 09.30: Extension of EU-UK trade agreement and the implications for the Irish fishing and seafood industry Children and Equality 10.00: Insight into the priority topics and issues facing the department
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Government seeks accommodation for 500 refugees
The Government is trying to find accommodation for 500 refugees who may need to come to Ireland under an international resettlement programme. The Department of Justice has put out a €61 million tender for accommodation for people who come to Ireland from countries such as Lebanon and Jordan under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). The State set up the programme in 2015 to respond to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe. People who come to Ireland under the IRPP are given refugee status before they arrive, so it is distinct from the international protection programme. People arriving in Ireland under the programme are described as being recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention. More than 4,500 refugees have come to Ireland since it was set up, with most coming under a programme led by the UNHCR. READ MORE A tender published this week revealed the Government is looking for accommodation 'for a minimum of 500 people, with a potential requirement for additional numbers depending on further reception of persons arriving in Ireland under IRPP'. The Department of Justice says it has advertised the tender to support the IRRP 'over the coming years.' These new 'reception and orientation' centres would provide a place refugees can stay while they are given access to health and social welfare services. Child refugees are given access to local primary or secondary schools. 'This period of orientation provides refugees with an opportunity to access necessary basic services in advance of their resettlement within the wider community' the tender document said. The Government warned potential bidders that the accommodation centres should be within 1km of local amenities such as shops, schools, GP clinics, hospitals and banks. It saidany bidder whose accommodation was further than 1km from such amenities should offer 'a road transport solution'. Accommodation providers would also be required to provide management catering, housekeeping, maintenance and security services. [ Family reunification delays having 'devastating' impact on refugee families Opens in new window ] Potential contractors were also 'reminded' that accommodation centres must comply with existing housing laws 'with regards to living space per person'. A number of inspections carried out last year on private accommodation centres who have been contracted to accommodate international protection applicants found rooms that were overcrowded under housing regulations. The new centres would be based on similar existing centres. The Department of Justice says there are currently three reception and orientation centres; Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon; Clonea Strand, Co Waterford; and Mosney Village, Co Meath. These have a combined capacity of 545 people. The department is organising a 'virtual' site visit to that centre for those interested in bidding for the new project. Due to privacy concerns for refugees and child welfare issues, the new refugee accommodation centres will have to be exclusively used for IRPP. 'If the premises has additional bedrooms or businesses beyond the contracting authority's required specification these can only be open to the public where it is guaranteed that no space will be shared between the public and IRPP residents, and that there will be no public access to the spaces reserved for the exclusive use of IRPP residents,' tender documents said. Ireland fell behind on commitments it had made in 2020-2023 to bring 2,900 refugees here, many of whom were Syrian refugees resident in Jordan and Lebanon. The government had blamed this on the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan in 2021. [ Refugees in Ireland: is the Government getting the balance right? Opens in new window ] Ireland has since told the European Commission that in 2024-2025 it would bring 800 refugees under the UNHCR resettlement process from Lebanon and Jordan, with another 100 'humanitarian admissions' from Afghanistan. Refugees are brought to Ireland under IRPP after a joint IRPP/An Garda Síochána 'selection mission' in their first country of asylum. Between January and May this year, 83 Syrian refugees and six Afghan refugees were brought to Ireland under the programme. In 2024 the figures were 199 and 77 respectively.
