Government relies too heavily on housing supports, damning report says

Housing Commission warned that such schemes underpin inflation in private rents and do not help the development of additional rental stock
The Government is over-reliant on housing supports such as HAP and the rental accommodation scheme (RAS), which are underpinning rent price growth, a damning report has warned.
The Housing Commission report, which is unpublished, said increased homelessness and a shortage of rental accommodation shows the State is too reliant on such schemes and should transition away from them.

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After years of economic calm, Ireland could be facing a storm. Are we better prepared this time?

Irish Times

2 hours ago

Irish Times

After years of economic calm, Ireland could be facing a storm. Are we better prepared this time?

On the day that Brian Cowen was elected taoiseach on May 7th, 2008, one of the headlines in The Irish Times read 'Poor old unlucky Bertie '. The Mahon tribunal had stampeded through Ahern's murky personal finances with a coach and four earlier that year, and Ahern had no choice but to fall on his sword. His successor Brian Cowen had been Fianna Fáil 's dauphin prince for a decade. In a for-once becalmed and benign Dáil, he listened as party leaders heaped praise on him and wished him well. In his own speech, he said he wanted to care for the less well-off in society and create 'caring and compassionate communities'. That day was as good as it got for Cowen. A retrospective headline could have read: 'Poor old unlucky Biffo'. And as for Bertie? He dodged a bullet that day. The first slate clouds of the coming storm were massing just over the horizon. READ MORE There were some small signs already evident. The State's revenues in the first four months of the year had fallen alarmingly. Yet, the Versailles levels of spending continued apace. [ Is this Government repeating the mistakes of 2008? Opens in new window ] That was only the beginning of the tragedy that was to unfold for Cowen and for the State. By June came the confirmation of a slump in house sales, and a significant downturn in bank profitability. The late Brian Lenihan mused that month it was just his luck to become minister for finance at the moment the building boom had come a 'shuddering halt'. The government began to batten down the hatches but the hurricane had already made landfall. Those who write about politics love the phrase of George Santayana's that 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' Since the economic crash there have been several extraordinary events that might have presented credible threats to political stability across Ireland, Europe and the world: Brexit; the Covid-19 pandemic; the war in Ukraine; the energy crisis; the terrible events of October 7th and the unspeakable annihilation of Gaza by Israel. Now we have a bellicose Trump presidency, brimful with threats and tariffs. [ Corporate tax take tumbles 30% for May with €1.1bn less over same month last year Opens in new window ] The State has somehow managed to weather all those storms. That has been partly thanks to huge windfalls from corporation tax that have given Ireland a buffer from the worst impacts of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Annual once-off payments for households became the norm during the last Dáil term. Seemingly, our economy still retains the knack of defying gravity. Two sets of figures, published on Thursday, suggest that all looks good for the public finances. The Department of Finance confirmed there has been an increase of 3.6 per cent in tax revenue so far this year. Economic growth also looks strong. According to CSO data, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by almost 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in exports. When President Trump started sabre-rattling about tariffs earlier this year, many people discovered for the first time the kind of astronomical figures associated with multinationals based here. Exports to the US from Ireland were worth €68 billion in 2024, two-thirds of which came from pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Beneath that veneer lies a more complicated scenario. Since 2011 there have been two parallel Irish economies, a global one and a domestic one. During the best years, GDP figures have been spectacular. But the picture was distorted. That part of the economy that doesn't feature gleaming towers in the Docklands, space-age pharmaceutical companies or aircraft leasing was lagging behind dramatically. This economy is made up of PAYE employees, or people working in less glamorous sectors, and those in the gig economy. Their reality has been a constant struggle to pay bills as prices escalate, to meet childcare costs, to scrape together enough to pay the mortgage or rent and put petrol in their cars. A new category, modified domestic demand (MDD), was created to better reflect that domestic economy. For example, when you strip out the multinationals, growth in MDD was less than 1 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. Not tanking by any means. But slowing. Tax take also seems to be holding up overall in 2025. However, the picture is complicated by the Apple tax money. When that is excluded, corporation tax is no longer up 18 per cent, but is more than 9 per cent down on the same period last year. Is that a sign that that ATM is finally running out of cash? It feels hard to escape from the sense that after years of generally smooth cruising, we are now facing turbulence. You can see signs of that wariness at institutional level. The Government has said categorically there will be no once-off payments this year. It has also revoked a plan to extend statutory sick-leave entitlements by two days. Sensibly, too, it has began an urgent all-hands-on-deck diplomatic and trade offensive to diversify away from the US and open up new markets elsewhere. One thing that has been reminiscent of the Celtic Tiger over the past decade is the willingness of governments to spend a lot of money. The capital housing budget has had a fivefold increase from €1.2 billion in 2017 to €6 billion in 2025. The health budget has almost doubled in the same period, up from €14.6 billion in 2017 to €25.8 billion this year. Overall State expenditure topped €100 billion for the first time in 2024. That's all well and good, unless we encounter a 2008-style collapse in revenue. Are we better prepared for the coming storm than 17 years ago? The answer is probably yes but even that might not inure us.

Letters: Railway's starring Swiss role can offer Ireland some much-needed inspiration

Irish Independent

5 hours ago

Irish Independent

Letters: Railway's starring Swiss role can offer Ireland some much-needed inspiration

What struck me most of all was the amazing engineering feats regarding transport infrastructure there. The number of tunnels is unbelievable. You can drive from one valley to the next, not by going over the mountain but by going through it, and this is repeated time and again. The railways are on another level, literally. We travelled on the Jungfraubahn, which tunnels its way through the mountains to the summit 3,454 metres above sea level. The station at the summit is actually in the mountain. On another day we were driving and were informed by our GPS that a particular road was closed because of weather conditions. No problem. We just drove to a railhead, drove the car on to a train, stayed in the car, travelled about 10km in a tunnel and drove off at the other end. Fantastic. Alas, like all good things the holiday came to an end. Arriving at Dublin Airport we waited in the open in cool weather for a bus to crawl through the city to our destination. We have a main line railway that is about 6km from Dublin Airport and a Luas line (Broombridge) about 7km from same. Bearing in mind the Swiss built the Jungfraubahn over 100 years ago, is there any chance that our politicians could build the badly needed rail link? I hold my breath in anticipation. Brendan Langley, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Less talking and more action on Gaza, please Madam — The Government needs to stop merely condemning the genocide that is happening in Gaza and take decisive action. Planes carrying arms to Israel should not be allowed to land in Ireland or fly through Irish airspace. Draconian sanctions involving a unilateral ban on the import of all Israeli products should be activated immediately, even if this means breaking ranks with a sleepwalking Europe. War crimes are happening in plain sight on a daily basis and the Irish Government is greatly shamed by its passive approach to this ever deteriorating situation. The Government is not listening to its people on this issue. Colman Collins, Galway Trump is helping to render Gaza a hell Madam — Home is where the heart is, and throughout its history the United States of America has been a home from home for the Irish and many other nationalities. But now I think this sentimental idea about the US is changing. Donald Trump and his government may extol the praises of the US through songs such as God bless America, my home sweet home, but that same government is, through its continuing support for the state of Israel, depriving the men, women and children of Gaza and the West Bank of their home sweet home — indeed, it is helping to make it a hell on earth. This is a great disappointment to those of us who have admired the US in the past. On his accession to office for the second time, the author of How to Get Rich and Think Big and Kick Ass: In business and life said Gaza could be the Riviera of the East, thus disclosing his mercenary way of thinking and his scant regard for the plight of others. Trump has the power to stop the war, first by ending the supply of arms to the Israelis. But he will not do that. Whither democracy when the great democratic institutions, the United Nations, the European Union, the international courts, have failed to impose their influence and authority on this interminable political catastrophe? Palestine should be home to Palestinians. Instead, it is a no man's land. This is disgraceful. Anthony McDonagh, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan Why no coverage of Hamas terrorism? Madam — This country now has an obsession with Gaza to the point of mania. We are being inundated with accounts and stories about the Gaza Strip. Many of these are not balanced, garnishing legitimate criticism from the Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich. Coverage and analysis of Hamas terrorist activity is hardly mentioned, which gives a highly unbalanced and biased view of what is going on. It is important we have routine objective coverage rather than campaigning journalism. Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork Chilling programme on nursing homes Madam — As an 82-year-old man, I watched the RTÉ Investigates programme about nursing homes for the elderly with absolute horror. Two words, 'nursing' (the most caring of professions) and 'home' (one's sanctuary and most sacred of places) put together to create a hell for ourselves, our spouses, parents and grandparents at the end of our days. Nursing homes are staffed by sons, daughters and grandchildren of elderly people, yet some choose to ignore the consequences of their actions. How can management not keep a constant supply of sanitary products and bed sheets for elderly residents they are being paid handsomely to care for? It beggars belief. John K Ryan, Tipperary Madam — The Poor House, the Magdalene Laundries, the psychiatric institutions and now the nursing homes. It is a modern-day scandal. Is this what is facing the elderly, sick, frail and vulnerable people needing care and those struggling to find compassionate care for them in 2025? This is happening at a time of so-called oversight, supported by increased technology and corporate-speak. Excellent journalists have highlighted this appalling scandal, clear for all to see, and it must be acted on. Shame on us for allowing this to happen. Alice Leahy, Alice Leahy Trust, Dublin 8 Act has destroyed the rights of women Madam — Ciara Witts (Letters, June 1) complains that John Boyne doesn't explain what the problems are with the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (GRA). Allow me to explain. By permitting a man to legally become a woman, the GRA destroyed the rights of women and girls to single-sex spaces (toilets and changing rooms), services (domestic violence refuges, rape crisis services) and sports (including contact sports). We're now in the position of having to fight to regain these hard-won rights. It takes just one man to make these spaces, services and sports mixed-sex, and all he needs to do is fill out a form and pay €10. Imagine a law that allowed white people to declare they are black or adults to declare they are children. There would rightly be uproar. Yet women are supposed to accept that any man can say he's a woman, or be called a bigot. If that's not misogynistic, I don't know what is. E Bolger, Dublin 9 Declan Lynch is now king of columnists Madam — For quite some time before his departure, Gene Kerrigan was considered by many of us as the king of Sunday Independent columnists. But it's time now, I think, for a new monarch to be crowned, so step forward Declan Lynch. Each week, he provides us with erudite and often witty musings on current affairs, both local and foreign; last week's column on Elon Musk was another example of his wonderful writing skills. It must be acknowledged that Declan foresaw — and wrote about — the massive danger that Donald Trump would present to democracy, both in the United States and worldwide, long before other commentators. Long may he reign. Jim Hickey, Mount Pleasant, Waterford Irish people living in fear in US is so sad Madam — The piece by Ali Bracken recently on how many Irish immigrants who have lived in America for decades are now living in fear of being deported was a sad and upsetting read. Irish-American families are being torn apart and living in fear because of Donald Trump's cruel and inhumane policies in the 'land of the free'. It is so sad to hear of Irish expats being treated like common criminals. These people go out to work every day and pay their taxes to the state, raise their families and contribute voluntarily to better the communities in which they live. The Irish helped to build America by serving in its military and building railways, motorways and skyscrapers over many decades. This would never happen under presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Clinton, Bush or Biden, who knew the value of the Irish men and women who helped to build America to become the world leader it is today. Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo Put a bell on your bike to keep all safe Madam — It is wonderful to see the new greenways along our rivers and canals. As more and more people are using them, a public awareness campaign to encourage cyclists and pedestrians to 'be sound' to each other is being considered by Dublin City Council. Possibly a 'be heard' campaign would be more appropriate. The growth in cycling is great, but I would implore bicycle owners to have a bell fitted to their machines. A lot of bikes and scooters, some of which can cost thousands of euro, are very fast and silent and do not have a bell or a buzzer to warn people of their approach. The road traffic regulations of 1963 clearly state that 'a bell which can be heard from a reasonable distance must be fitted to all bicycles'. So, cyclists, comply with the law and keep yourself and other people safe. Brian Lube, Co Meath Airbnbs did not cause Irish housing crisis Madam — Eoin O'Malley's suggestion last Sunday that all Airbnbs should be taxed out of existence makes me worry for the hard-working hosts — the majority — who are only trying to keep a roof over their heads. It isn't just that we want some return on investment, but also on our weekly labour as we provide comfortable, reasonably priced short-term accommodation for foreign tourists, contract workers, our neighbours' relatives and Irish families on holiday. We make use of available space in a flexible, sustainable way that benefits the local economy. Our annexes and cottages and remote holiday homes didn't cause the housing crisis, and we can't solve it. Susan Devane, New Ross, Co Wexford Eilis O'Hanlon is one brave journalist Madam — In my view, Eilis O'Hanlon is the best and bravest female journalist in print media today. In her insightful article last week she noted that Morning Ireland, Claire Byrne and Drivetime only briefly referred to the recent UK ruling that defined 'woman' under equality law as a biological female. I was not surprised that this highly significant ruling was practically ignored by the news and current affairs programmes on RTÉ and in the print media. The fact remains that a man with XY chromosomes can never change to be an XX chromosomal woman, and the UK Supreme Court was simply confirming this medical truth. Dr Pat Mc Grath, Monkstown, Co Dublin Joni Mitchell said it best — let's listen up Madam — The death of one of Ireland's oldest breeding white-tailed eagles last week is another blow to efforts to save what is left of our disappearing biodiversity. Over the past five years, several white-tailed eagles have been poisoned or shot. The reintroduction of this magnificent bird to Ireland was a cause for celebration, but the project appears to be floundering. The sad fact is that nature is held in contempt by a sizeable body of people on this island. Since the gorse fire ban officially came into force in March, fires have raged through at least five counties. Pollution is rampant and habitats are being destroyed at such a rate that you'd think we wanted to be rid of them. Pesticides are used with abandon, killing precious honey bees already battling to survive the ravages of climate change and modern agriculture. And then there's the abhorrent example set by the State, which yearly licenses the capture of thousands of our native hares for coursing. What kind of message does that send out to the public about the value we place on wildlife conservation? During the Covid lockdown, many of us rediscovered the attractions of nature. We connected with a world that lay, largely unheeded, all around us. Some of us may need reminding that, in the words of the Joni Mitchell song, 'You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone'. John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny Here is a confession: I don't like Guinness Madam — I was intrigued to read Leslie Ann Horgan's recent editor's letter in Life Magazine (June 1), in which she recounted having her first pint of Guinness at the age of 24 — her very first alcoholic drink. As a 70-year-old Irishman, I thought I might offer a contrasting tale: I have never had a pint of Guinness. At 16, working on a building site in Birmingham, I bought a bottle of Guinness with my first pay — which, incidentally, was more than my father was earning at the time back home in Northern Ireland. I took a sip, found I didn't like the taste, and I've never touched it since. A small, perhaps unremarkable fact, but in Ireland such abstinence from the national drink almost feels like a confession. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh Give up demanding a capital M for mass Madam — Mary Lally requests 'Again, please give us a capital M for mass' (Letters, June 1). The reason lower case is used when writing 'mass' is that the original Latin word is 'missa' from 'mission' — sending out the faithful to be apostles. Mass is lower case, whereas Eucharistic, meaning celebration, does have an upper case E. Rules of grammar take precedence in the media. By no means is this, nor should it be taken, as demeaning in any way. Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Students are more than sum of results Madam — Now that this year's Leaving Certificate exams have begun, may I offer some words of advice? These students have taken many lessons and now face tests. However, in life it is most often the other way around. The tests of life come first, followed, if we are lucky, by some lessons. These tests — call them the slings and arrows of life — will reveal the individual character of each member of the class of 2025. Finally, they are all much more than the sum of their results. Good luck to them.

Irish Independent

5 hours ago

Irish Independent