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Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Letters: New office aimed at boosting house-building needs additional primary legislation to achieve its aims
'This office will help secure the enabling infrastructure needed for public and private housing development and unblock infrastructure delays on the ground, maximising the number of homes delivered from the supply pipeline already in place,' he said in response to Dáil questions. The house construction target is 300,000 units from now to 2030. In 1975, just under 27,000 new homes were built; in that year we had a population of 3.19 million. The estimated 2024 population, based on the Census 2022 figure of 5.149 million, is 5.394 million. There were 30,330 new dwelling completions in the whole of 2024. Acknowledging the large number of completions in the 'housing boom' era, the historical fact remains that last year just over 6,000 more homes were completed than 1975, despite a population increase of over 2,200,000 (59pc) in that period. The SHAO faces enormous challenges: unblocking infrastructural delays; facilitating a climate whereby builders can access finance to engage in major developments; increasing the number of houses built directly by housing authorities; minimising the effects of the Nimby culture and judicial reviews; and somehow providing a proper supply of affordable homes for purchase, rather than renting. We are facing a tenure crisis that would have Michael Davitt spinning in his grave, with hundreds of thousands of citizens living in accommodation in which they have not a bathroom tile of equity. Unfortunately, as I cannot see how the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024 address any of these issues, or the crippling complexity of our planning process, without empowering additional primary legislation I fear the SHAO mission is doomed. Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford Why appoint a housing tsar when we already have somebody to do the job? It is the job of the Housing Minister to be the 'housing tsar'. Bill O'Rourke, Crumlin, Dublin 12 Hefty salary of €430,000 would be better spent on providing family homes The €430,000 salary flagged for the next housing tsar would be better spent on renting homes for up to 20 families currently living in emergency accommodation. ADVERTISEMENT Of course, it would also mean not introducing just another bureaucratic layer in attempts to actually solve the housing crisis. Peter Declan O'Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan Minister could easily field a couple of football teams with all those assistants Jim O'Sullivan ('Government should stop building empires and start building homes instead' Irish Independent, Letters, April 30) points out that the Housing Minister is supported by three junior ministers, a general secretary and nine assistant secretaries (I would assume several 'advisers' also). Does the appointment of a so-called housing tsar mean the Government does not have confidence in the minister to carry out his duties? Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork Chasm growing between Roman Catholicism and Christianity this century Following the death of Pope Francis, public deliberation on the tenets and beliefs of his successor is widespread. Currently, a group from the US is lobbying cardinals in Rome to appoint a man they wish will undo the great Christian work of Francis. The chasm between Roman Catholicism and actual Christianity is sadly becoming larger in the 21st century. In Robert Harris's excellent fictional novel Conclave, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, disturbed after a dialogue with Cardinal Benitez, thought to himself (page 279): 'Was it really possible that he had spent the last 30 years worshipping the church rather than God?' This sentence, and ignorance of the tradition that cardinals appeal to the Holy Spirit for guidance in electing a pope, illustrates a clear refusal by some to trust God, while ignoring the importance of the Trinity, both as individuals and one God. That they opt to put labels on any who are not of their ilk is totally unchristian. Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Trump got dressing-down for dressing up – in a blue suit – at Francis's funeral Some sections of the media will stoop to any low to have a go at Donald Trump, probably resulting from a fit of childish pique, having got the US election result so disastrously wrong. The latest, almost farcical weapon of choice, is what one might call 'Blue Suit-Gate'. Apparently, some of these hard-bitten hacks have gone all sensitive over Mr Trump wearing a blue suit at Pope Francis's funeral. The facts undermine this bout of pseudo-fashion sensitivity. First, funeral etiquette dictates that it is perfectly acceptable to wear a blue suit at a funeral, particularly if one is not a chief mourner. I have to confess to the media fashion police that I have comm- itted this 'crime' myself. Guilty as charged. Second, and more importantly, if one looks at the rows of dignitaries seated behind Mr Trump, a substantial number were also wearing, you've guessed it, blue suits. One suspects that had Mr Trump worn a dark suit, it would have been judged as the wrong shade of dark. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath Policies have ruffled a few feathers, but president's pace of change impressive Much of what has been written about Donald Trump's first 100 days has been negative – and perhaps justifiably so ('In a mere 100 days, Trump has created a more volatile world', Editorial, April 30). His policies have strained international alliances, unsettled economies and divided public opinion at home and abroad. Yet one cannot ignore the sheer pace at which his administration has moved. In an era when political processes often crawl forward, his ability to implement change – for better or worse – is remarkable. There is an uncomfortable lesson here: energy and initiative, even when misguided, can leave more deliberate democracies wrong-footed. Those who value steadiness and principle must now match that urgency not with haste, but with conviction and a clarity of purpose that resonates across borders.
South China Morning Post
30-01-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Chinese scientist duo on team recognised for work in search of ripples in space-time
Chinese researchers have received a prestigious award from the Royal Astronomical Society for their leading roles in efforts to detect nanohertz gravitational waves – or ultra-low-frequency ripples in space-time. Advertisement Liu Kuo and Chen Siyuan from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) were key contributors to the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) consortium, which received the royal society's group achievement award earlier this month. While working at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, Liu led a team of researchers from Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands and other European nations to analyse and release a major pulsar timing data set in 2023, according to SHAO. The data, measured to within a billionth of a second, was built on 25 years of observations from six of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes . Pulsars – rapidly spinning neutron stars – serve as cosmic clocks to reveal the elusive waves through tiny variations in their timing. Members of the EPTA consortium, which has received the Royal Astronomical Society's group achievement award for its work in nanohertz gravitational waves. Photo: EPTA Using this data set, Chen led a team in France at the National Centre for Scientific Research and the Paris Observatory to search for a faint, collective signal from pairs of distant supermassive black holes Advertisement His team successfully identified a signal with a statistical significance of about three sigma, meaning it was unlikely to be noise. The findings matched results from other pulsar timing collaborations, SHAO noted on its WeChat account.
South China Morning Post
30-01-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Chinese scientist duo on team awarded for work in search of space-time ripples
Published: 4:14pm, 30 Jan 2025 Chinese researchers have received a prestigious award from the Royal Astronomical Society for their leading roles in efforts to detect nanohertz gravitational waves – or ultra-low-frequency ripples in space-time. Liu Kuo and Chen Siyuan from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) were key contributors to the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) consortium, which received the royal society's group achievement award earlier this month. While working at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, Liu led a team of researchers from Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands and other European nations to analyse and release a major pulsar timing data set in 2023, according to SHAO. The data, measured to within a billionth of a second, was built on 25 years of observations from six of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes . Pulsars – rapidly spinning neutron stars – serve as cosmic clocks to reveal the elusive waves through tiny variations in their timing. Members of the EPTA consortium, which has received the Royal Astronomical Society's group achievement award for its work in nanohertz gravitational waves. Photo: EPTA Using this data set, Chen led a team in France at the National Centre for Scientific Research and the Paris Observatory to search for a faint, collective signal from pairs of distant supermassive black holes . His team successfully identified a signal with a statistical significance of about three sigma, meaning it was unlikely to be noise. The findings matched results from other pulsar timing collaborations, SHAO noted on its WeChat account.
