At a dinner recently we were discussing the housing crisis, which everyone agreed was terrible. We all knew the figures – 100,000 on housing lists; 10,000 homeless – a shocking third of them children. We agreed the Government wasn’t doing enough. Someone asked, not unreasonably, since there was clearly money (tax receipts are the highest ever), and land available (half of all Dublin City vacant sites are State owned), why the problem wasn’t solved.
Her otherwise logical argument is, of course, predicated on the assumption that the Government wants to solve it, which it does not.
So, here’s the thing:
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1. The people who are expected to pay to house the homeless, are voters. Those needing to be housed, are typically not. And especially, they’re not Fine Gael (or Fianna Fáil) voters. 34pc of those on housing lists are foreigners who mostly do not, or cannot, vote.
2. Everyone says they want the problem solved but what is the first thing that happens when a planning application for a large social housing development becomes known in a town? Protests, objections, outrage. They’re the voters, right there. Some of them are politicians.
3. Of the 17,995 houses built in 2018, a quarter were one-off houses in the countryside, many aided by generous taxpayer grants. Less than a quarter were for social housing, while half were for private buyers.
4. Homelessness is an industry. There are no fewer than 520 Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) controlling a stock of 30,000 properties, averaging just 57 houses each. Thousands are employed in these not-for-profits, all busy ‘doing something’. Why so many and why the structured bureaucracy?
5. There are at least 92 housing charities. Again, busy ‘doing something’. But why are there so many? And why are they charities? Isn’t there a better way?
6. Building houses is not that expensive. This may come as a shocker, but Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council can build a two-bed apartment for under €275,000 on State land. Cualain, an AHB, can do it for €280,000. But the available land is being hoarded by the State.
7. Private land banks are hoarded by massive foreign funds, not local developers. The vacant land tax is minuscule compared to the capital growth, so they’re happy to pay it, to control the market. Flooding it with houses isn’t smart business; it brings down the price. That’s just Economics #101.
8. Nearly a third of the Fine Gael parliamentary party are landlords as are one in five TDs. Go figure.
9. Paschal Donohoe wants negative equity to be redundant by summer 2020. You don’t do that by depressing the market through building thousands of houses. So, this Christmas, donate to a housing charity if it makes you feel better. They are doing genuinely good work the Government is not; but they’re running to stand still.
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Sinead Ryan: 'Why the Government simply has no reason to end homelessness'
Sinead Ryan: 'Why the Government simply has no reason to end homelessness'
At a dinner recently we were discussing the housing crisis, which everyone agreed was terrible. We all knew the figures – 100,000 on housing lists; 10,000 homeless – a shocking third of them children. We agreed the Government wasn’t doing enough. Someone asked, not unreasonably, since there was clearly money (tax receipts are the highest ever), and land available (half of all Dublin City vacant sites are State owned), why the problem wasn’t solved.
Her otherwise logical argument is, of course, predicated on the assumption that the Government wants to solve it, which it does not.
So, here’s the thing:
Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
Log In
New to Independent.ie? Create an account
1. The people who are expected to pay to house the homeless, are voters. Those needing to be housed, are typically not. And especially, they’re not Fine Gael (or Fianna Fáil) voters. 34pc of those on housing lists are foreigners who mostly do not, or cannot, vote.
2. Everyone says they want the problem solved but what is the first thing that happens when a planning application for a large social housing development becomes known in a town? Protests, objections, outrage. They’re the voters, right there. Some of them are politicians.
3. Of the 17,995 houses built in 2018, a quarter were one-off houses in the countryside, many aided by generous taxpayer grants. Less than a quarter were for social housing, while half were for private buyers.
4. Homelessness is an industry. There are no fewer than 520 Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) controlling a stock of 30,000 properties, averaging just 57 houses each. Thousands are employed in these not-for-profits, all busy ‘doing something’. Why so many and why the structured bureaucracy?
5. There are at least 92 housing charities. Again, busy ‘doing something’. But why are there so many? And why are they charities? Isn’t there a better way?
6. Building houses is not that expensive. This may come as a shocker, but Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council can build a two-bed apartment for under €275,000 on State land. Cualain, an AHB, can do it for €280,000. But the available land is being hoarded by the State.
7. Private land banks are hoarded by massive foreign funds, not local developers. The vacant land tax is minuscule compared to the capital growth, so they’re happy to pay it, to control the market. Flooding it with houses isn’t smart business; it brings down the price. That’s just Economics #101.
8. Nearly a third of the Fine Gael parliamentary party are landlords as are one in five TDs. Go figure.
9. Paschal Donohoe wants negative equity to be redundant by summer 2020. You don’t do that by depressing the market through building thousands of houses. So, this Christmas, donate to a housing charity if it makes you feel better. They are doing genuinely good work the Government is not; but they’re running to stand still.
Source: Read Full Article