Latest news with #PressureZones
Irish Independent
30-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Student fees will ‘revert' to €3,000 this September after three years of ‘once-off' reductions, says minister
The last three budgets reduced student fees by €1,000 as part of wider 'once-off' cost-of-living packages that will not be repeated this year. Further and Higher Education Minister James Lawless has said that fees will 'revert' to what they were before such measures were applied. Speaking to RTÉ's This Week, Mr Lawless said: 'The indications are that there won't be a cost-of-living package this year, so all of us, in any walk of life, has to play the hands we're dealt. 'If I don't have a cost-of-living package, I can't do those kind of measures that were done last year.' Mr Lawless said the 'once-off' supports were 'very clearly described as once-off at the time' and 'are not being provided for as it stands because there's no cost-of-living package being made available'. 'That may change coming into the budget. It's a matter for the finance ministers more so than myself, but, you know, that is what's coming,' he added. He said the contribution fees paid by many students will 'revert' to what they were before such measures were applied. The contribution fee can vary based on a student's eligibility for grants, but the maximum rate is €3,000. 'Fees will reset, as with energy costs, as with the welfare system, as with every other means-tested payment across government, will revert to what it was before cost-of-living packages,' he said. 'If there is no cost-of-living package, there's no cost-of-living subsidy. If there's no cost-of-living subsidy, rates revert to what they were before that.' ADVERTISEMENT Mr Lawless said 'instead' measures that expand the grant scheme to higher thresholds will be considered along with other grant supports. He said the Programme for Government, which commits to reducing the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government, also states that both the reduction of the fees and the 'financial burden on families and students' would be done in 'a financially sustainable way'. 'I can't cherry-pick the Programme for Government, I have to implement it in full,' he said. 'Is it financially sustainable in a circumstance where we don't have any cost-of-living package to put resources into one-off measures? I think the clue is in the name, they were one-off measures.' Mr Lawless said he still intends to 'wind down' the contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government. He is also currently in discussions with Housing Minister James Browne in relation to the reforms of Rent Pressure Zones. While they are working on a way to 'carve out student-specific accommodation from the RPZ rules', he said it is more difficult to define what privately-rented, off-campus properties could qualify as student-specific accommodation. 'I think it's relatively straightforward to work on rules for student-specific accommodation, where we have apartments on campus or in and around campus provided for the student population. That's relatively straightforward,' he said. He said there is a need to 'work out the balance' in relation to incentivising the delivery of such accommodation.
Irish Independent
25-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Councillors' job is to build houses and not object to them, says Simon Harris
Simon Harris also said every part of the state needs to treat the housing crisis as an emergency, including the chief executives of Uisce Eireann and ESB. Mr Harris made the comments as he and the Minister for Housing James Browne visited the site of new cost rental apartments in Tallaght, Dublin. The Department of Housing said it is the first local authority funded, standalone, cost rental development in Ireland. Both ministers said that 'key' to eliminating homelessness is supply of housing. 'Supply of a whole variety of homes, including social homes,' Mr Harris added. 'I know one of the issues that the minister (for housing) is working on, and that we fully support across government, is making it even easier for local authorities to go through the approval process for new social homes more quickly, and looking at how we can improve a standardisation in terms of how we develop social homes so they can be delivered more quickly. 'We're in the early stages of this new government. 'That's why we're making big and bold decisions, including decisions that will be unpopular and difficult at times in relation to housing, including decisions that, quite rightly, people will be able to parse and analyse and critique, if they look at each decision individually. 'But actually, as the Minister (Browne) has rightly said, it is about putting together pieces of the jigsaw that will get us to those 300,000 incomes. 'I don't in any way anyway underestimate the scale of the housing crisis. It is a housing emergency. 'It's very real and acute emergency for people, particularly families and challenge in relation to housing today, and that's why we need to break down every silo that exists in the state. 'Housing can't just be an emergency for the Minister for Housing, the Department of Housing, or people in need of housing, it has to be an emergency every part of the state. 'It has to be an emergency for the CEO Uisce Eireann, the CEO of the ESB, every chief executive of every local authority, every county councillor who needs to realise their job is not to object to houses, but build houses. 'This is where we've got to get to break down the silos.' Last week, emergency legislation that saw rent pressure zones extended nationwide was signed into law. The system, which caps rent increases at the rate of inflation or 2pc, whichever is lower, have also been extended until the end of February after originally being due to expire at the end of the year. Mr Browne said more time is needed to assess the impact of the changes in law. He said that landlords have been leaving the system in 'substantial numbers' for years because of the previous laws around Rent Pressure Zones. 'We wanted to bring in stronger tenants' rights, that's really important,' Mr Browne added. 'And also be able to activate supply because of when it comes to the prices of homes, the only way we're going to get the prices to stabilise is through the increase of supply. 'That increase of supply will bring down rents, will increase the supply of homes to stabilise those and help eliminate homelessness as well. 'It is all about supply, supply, supply, supply, and that's what we're all aiming at towards now while protecting our renters and ensuring people can live in their local communities.' He said that around 40pc of people going into homelessness is a result of notice to quit in tenancies. He claimed the new legislation will bring in security of tenure. 'We know internationally, where you have higher homelessness, it is where you also have higher rents,' he added. 'By getting that supply up, you get rents down, and we'll also help to get homelessness down, but also the measures we've made around Rent Pressure Zones, around security of tenure, will help prevent people going into homelessness as well. 'With this legislation in that we have security of tenure. 'We also have a large population moving from Ipas centres, who have had their situation regulated, but don't have somewhere to live, coming into our homeless situation as well. 'I'm very conscious that well over 70pc of everybody who's homeless is also in Dublin. 'So there was a lot of moving parts in terms of the homeless situation. 'We're trying to address them all. 'But for those coming into homelessness to prevent them, we have record prevention as well, with people going into homelessness and getting people exited out as quickly as possible.'
Irish Independent
23-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
The Irish Independent's View: New housing excuses sound remarkably similar to the old ones
The minister talked up returning vacant properties to the market and the potential for social housing and rental accommodation. Strategies will include streamlining the planning process, strategic use of land, funds for local authorities and more specific schemes. Construction levies and taxation will also be looked at. To understand the issue better from the inside out, and then to put measures in place that are practical and action-orientated, the minister was meeting with a wide variety of stakeholders. He also acknowledged that things will probably get worse before they get better. If this all sounds remarkably familiar, it's because this account of an interview by the housing minister is almost a decade old. This time nine years ago, the housing minister Simon Coveney was building up towards his big announcement of an action plan for housing. 'Rebuilding Ireland' was published in the summer of 2016 – complete with the commitment to end homelessness. Browne's overhaul of Rent Pressure Zones will arguably make the cost of rent worse Fast forward nine years and the current occupant of the Custom House, James Browne, is talking in strikingly similar terms about the imperative to increase supply. Browne's overhaul of Rent Pressure Zones will arguably make the cost of rent worse, initially, in order to increase the supply in the longer run, thereby making things better. But the minister doesn't appear to have the political wit to acknowledge there are immediate downsides to his plans. The impact of the lack of supply in the market is illustrated today in the Irish Independent/REA Average House Price Index. The survey shows asking prices still rising as buyers become desperate to get a home they can call their own. This summer, the minister will also launch an action plan for housing – the latest iteration of a running theme for a decade. Emerging from the ashes of the Celtic Tiger crash, successive governments of similar hues have failed to sufficiently increase the output of housing to anywhere near the levels required. A record 93,419 houses and apartments were built in 2006 – the highest rate in Europe. Nowadays we seem to be lucky if we break the 30,000 mark. Even the Government's bluff figure of 40,000 is well below that of a generation ago. Whatever bells-and-whistles plan is launched this time will doubtless try to suggest that the initiatives identified are new and therefore deserving of time to bed in and deliver results. It's a hard sell at this stage as the housing excuses wear thin for this Coalition. It is simply not credible to ask the public to ignore what has gone before simply because there is a new minister appointed in a newly formed government. Meet the new boss, he sounds remarkably similar to the old boss. Clear, coherent and credible policies will get a better reception than being told it will be different this time around.
Irish Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
New RPZ rules mean you'll soon be paying even more rent. That's the whole point
It's amazing how the Government can oversee a decade-long housing crisis and still pretend they want to solve it. They engineered it, created it and take active steps to ensure it keeps on going. Look at the rush to restrict rent caps, the only measure preventing total housing chaos. Yet this reckless intervention is being framed as a national rollout of protections for renters - the exact opposite of what it is. They're calling it a 'reform' of the Rent Pressure Zones, which were reluctantly brought in in 2016 and only after runaway rents had reached a peak. Limiting rents to a 2 per cent annual hike was absolutely necessary to stop the greed. But these changes to RPZs will leave it toothless, and pile more pain on renters. The express purpose is to make rents higher so the market is "attractive" to investors. The only thing investors find attractive is money. Now, tenants are trapped into higher rents on both sides - forced to pay more if they stay long-term in the same place, or, if they move to a new place. Do I stay or do I go? Either way, you'll be stiffed for the highest rent possible. Landlords will be able to 'reset' rents after six years for sitting tenants; and they can reset them too, for new tenants. Government is determined to make the market more profitable for the investors they bend over for. This is being done on the backs of renters already stuck paying extortionate average rents of €2,000 nationally and €2,500 in cities. The reform - rushed into legislation on Friday - will ensure more rent hikes, sparking ever-upwards market rates. Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin described it as "the deathknell of rent pressure zones as we know them'. The reason it's being done is to drive rents up. Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Housing Minister James Browne have stated this. They want an Ireland of higher rents. Martin said it was about enabling a 'stable environment in which to invest'. James Browne said: "Rents may go up." May? Will. If they don't go up, the investors won't invest. Our leaders claim it will be more costly in the short term, but lead to more supply in the long term. What use is that to tenants? That's punishing renters to pander to investors. It's also an empty pledge, as such investors deliver small volumes of very expensive rental in affluent parts of Dublin and Cork - helping just the chosen few. It goes against the Housing Commission advice, which recommended RPZs stay in place while an alternative system of rent controls is formulated. The Central Bank's Robert Kelly said the changes will 'be painful for renters'. He said: 'It's likely to be positive in terms of the level of supply, as they have rent resets within them. But the pain felt by households is not even, due to the housing crisis'. Good news for the investor - bad news for the renter. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Mike Allen from Focus Ireland called it 'a solution that says 'we can deliver more housing, but you won't be able to afford to live in it'. That's not a solution.' I was at the Raise the Roof rally outside the Dail on Tuesday. I've been attending such protests since 2015, usually with my son Luc and his friend Filip. I've seen them grow from little boys into young men, over the time. They're now taller than Eoin O Broin, who they first met at these protests when they were six or seven. And yet it is still going on. Childhoods continue to be lost to it. This latest move makes it clear the crisis is actually profit-driven policy. At the rally, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said they had gathered at the rally to call out the Government's "spoof and outright lies". TD Paul Murphy correctly called it a 'manufactured crisis' that 'transfers wealth from workers to a tiny few at the top, the corporate landlords and developers'. Deputy Rory Hearne said it is 'clearly government policy to have a permanent housing crisis'. For a government to do that to its own people is, in my view, tantamount to treason.
Irish Independent
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
‘We want an opportunity to get on with our lives' –Raise the Roof rally demands new approach to housing
Today at 16:09 Hundreds of people gathered outside the Dáil to protest the Government's housing policy, which Opposition TDs said has left renters struggling and thousands homeless. The crowd gathered for the Raise the Roof rally heard how some tenants are paying rents of up to €2,000 each month for their accommodation, while some apartments are advertised for as much as €4,000 a month. Others have been living into their 30s and 40s in their childhood bedrooms or in hidden homelessness, while a record 15,580 people were living in emergency accommodation in April, protestors heard. Speaking to the crowd outside Leinster House, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the message for the Government from the rally is: 'The game is up, the people are at the gate.' Dubliner Eoin Hogan (33) said the housing crisis is stalling life for the younger generation as major milestones are 'being pushed back' due to difficulties faced in renting and buying a home. "If I wanted to move in with my girlfriend, it's incredibly difficult to find a place, it's incredibly expensive if you want to buy you own home and have kids, everything is getting pushed back and pushed back,' he told the Irish Independent. "We just want an equal opportunity to get on with our lives. I know many people who have moved to Australia, moved abroad. Something needs to be done.' Louis Fallon (31) said 'everything' in renters lives are impacted by the struggle to find affordable accommodation. "When I was back in college, it was €400 in Monkstown ten years ago for a single bedroom. Now, in Dublin, it's like €700 to €800. If I lost the room I had now, I wouldn't be able to afford it. I'd be back home with my parents. It affects everything in your life – education, relationships,' he said. Protestors held party political flags, banners representing trade unions and signs with slogans such as 'housing is a human right', 'rent is too damn high' and 'dereliction is a social crime'. "I'm 30 years of age and I live with my parents because we're saving for a house,' said Stobie (30), who is from Dublin. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more "Myself and my partner were renting in separate apartments for a couple of years but it's just not viable to live independently and save for a house – it's either one or the other and I don't think that should be the way life is.' Faye White (31) said the housing crisis 'has been getting worse, rather than better' in recent years as she said the new legislation around Rent Pressure Zones are 'not good enough' to make a difference for renters. "I have rented myself, I've been lucky enough and I will be able to hopefully get a mortgage and buy a home, the only reason is because my partner's family own the home. I would not even be able to think about getting a mortgage or look to buy a home if I wasn't in that very privileged situation.' Ms McDonald said the Government 'must be faced down' on housing, telling protestors that it is 'shameful' that so many children 'call a hostel or a B&B home', while People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said rising rents have become policy. "We cannot wait for over 20,000 people to be homeless, and that's where we'll be by the next election if things keep going. We can't wait for average rent in Dublin to go well beyond €3,000 a month,' he said. "We can't wait while house prices continue to rise at a record rate. We have to stop them now with protests like this.' Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused the Government of U-turns and 'terrible' housing policies, while Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said the 'biggest barrier and blockage to housing in this country is behind us, and it's called Fianna Fail and Fine Gael'.
