“There is nothing in this Budget for hard-presser renters who are among the worst hit by the current housing crisis. Instead, landlords have received another tax break.”
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD has said housing measures in Budget 2019 are failing hard-pressed renters while profiting landlords and private developers.
Deputy Murphy said:
There are three main issues in the housing budget:
1.There is nothing in this Budget for hard-presser renters who are among the worst hit by the current housing crisis. Instead, landlords have received another tax break.
2.This Budget won’t solve the housing crisis. With only a few thousand new homes being built by the State in 2019, we will still be completely dependent on the private sector to deliver supply. That hasn’t worked in any previous crisis, and it won’t work in this one.
3.The government has raised €700 million in taxes in Budget day announcements – but only €80 million of that has been set aside for building new houses in 2019.
“This was supposed to be a housing budget – yet there is absolutely no sense that the government is responding to the extent of the crisis that we are facing. What we see today amounts to nothing short of a bonus for landlords and private developers and a slap in the face for renters and people struggling to find or hold on to the roofs over their heads.”
ENDS
9th October 2018