Tánaiste concedes rents here are ‘out of kilter’ Mirror mirror on the wall... Marty heeds the panto’s call
... and tells Ibec how housing shortage is of ‘deep concern’ to firms
‘We need to be open to new ideas’
TÁNAISTE Leo Varadkar described the high cost of rent in Ireland as ‘out of kilter and disproportionate’ when compared to ‘peer’ countries.
The Fine Gael leader made the comments in the Dáil yesterday, where he told TDs that he ‘stood over’ comments he made previously that if there were any tax cuts for landlords in the upcoming Budget, there would also be concessions for renters.
Mr Varadkar was responding to remarks from Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman, Donegal TD Pearse Doherty, who accused him of believing that landlords ‘should be prioritised and their incomes are more important than renters being able to live a decent life’.
Speaking about rent pressure zones, Mr Varadkar said that the measure had provided ‘great relief’ to many renters but there had been some ‘negative consequences’, he added.
‘It has probably had a negative impact on supply and has perhaps driven up rents when it comes to new tenancies. That is something that we need to be concerned about,’ he said.
Meanwhile, at the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) president’s dinner in
Dublin’s RDS last night, the Tánaiste described the housing situation as being a ‘deep concern for employers’ and said the current output of new homes is ‘not enough’.
He said: ‘We need to do more and be open to new ideas. We have built 25,000 new homes in the past year. That’s more than any year since 2011. But it’s not enough. We need to get close to 35,000 a year.’
Mr Varadkar said the Government will use the Budget to help businesses with energy bills through a ‘broad-based’ plan that ‘tens of thousands’ of businesses will qualify for.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party unveiled its 2022 alternative budget, outlining a €4 billion costof-living package including a price cap on energy costs to be funded by a windfall tax on profits of energy companies and a levy on data centres.
Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash said: ‘Ireland is a rich country yet our country just does not work. We have a housing model that’s broken, climate targets missed, the crippling cost of childcare and whole sectors of our economy rife with low pay.’
GAA COMMENTATOR Marty Morrissey will take to the stage in the National Stadium, Dublin, in this year’s pantomime of Snow White and Sammy and Buffy.
Dressed from head to toe in silver glitter, the RTÉ star will take on the role of The Magic Mirror in Alan Hughes’ beloved annual panto.
Marty said: ‘I’m so delighted. Panto is a great family tradition and I can’t wait to bring a bit of the Marty party magic to the part. Karl sent me over some footage of the previous pantos and it looked spectacular. I was laughing so much that when they asked me to be in Snow White I couldn’t resist saying “Oh Yes I will”.’
Writer and producer of the panto, Karl Broderick, said: ‘It’s a real privilege to have Marty on board. We really wanted a star who makes you smile when you think of him and that’s Marty. He has this great reputation for being up for the craic and we all need that these days. Our audience is going to love it.’
Marty’s part will be filmed and displayed on the Magic Mirror in the live show.
He will be alongside popular comedian Katherine Lynch as the Wicked Queen.
Pantomime regulars Alan Hughes and Rob Murphy will return this year as the lovable Sammy Sausages and as Daddyloving Buffy.