Crisis needs a seismic shift in our politics

THE housing crisis is beginning to look like the story that will dominate the obituary of Leo Vardakar’s Government.

The failings on housing are universal, from the failure to tackle homelessness, to short-term accommodation in unsuitable hotels and hubs, to availability and affordability for those looking to buy, and to the abject failure of new regulations to put a brake on rent inflation. After seven years of a Fine Gael government, it seems there is little done, far too much to do.

Our analysis of the most recent housing data shows that the Government will miss this year’s target for building local authority houses, with 16 councils failing to commence the number of builds necessary to meet them.

The lack of urgency is astonishing – one housing unit in Finglas in Dublin has been under construction for three years and has yet to be completed. In Co. Tipperary, the target was for 50 new social houses but only one has been commenced. Eight counties have seen no completions at all.

Adrift from its promises, the Government is running out of road. It is hard to see how anything will change without a seismic shift in the nature of our politics, one that delivers a strong government, yes, but also a strong opposition.