News

It is beyond infuriating that, as elected local representatives, we are trying to act in the public interest and are being frustrated at every turn The capacity of Dublin City Councillors to shape the Dublin City Development Plan has been completely undermined by a Ministerial power grab, according to Social Democrats Councillor Catherine Stocker. Cllr […]

It is clear rent caps are nothing more than window dressing Rents across the country are out of control with rents in Dublin now 50pc more than the Celtic Tiger peak, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Last year, rents across the country increased by an average of more than 10pc. Meanwhile, 20 […]

The cuckoos have come home roost – because the government incentivised them to come here Cuckoo funds outbidding ordinary buyers for family homes by up to 32pc is a direct consequence of government policy, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Young workers and families don’t stand a chance when they try to buy […]

The Minister’s record to date is one of failure. No amount of spin can change this. The latest update on the Housing for All plan reveals the Government is rich on promises for the future and exceptionally poor on actual delivery, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “No affordable purchase homes were delivered […]

The government must urgently introduce a tax on vacant buildings New figures confirming there are more than 100,000 vacant and derelict homes across the country are further evidence the government’s housing policy is failing, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan was commenting after GeoDirectory published new figures which revealed 90,158 dwellings […]

This level of rental increase is immiserating ordinary workers New figures from the RTB show that the government has abjectly failed to constrain runaway rents, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Rents rose by 8.3pc in the third quarter of the year – the highest rate of rental increase since 2017. In Dublin, […]

Ordinary workers can no longer aspire to own their own home New figures from the CSO show that house prices are spiralling out of the reach of ordinary workers, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “House prices in October increased by 13.5pc – the highest rate of increase in six years. This is […]

Vacancy rates are as high as 11.5pc in some of our towns The Government must urgently introduce a tax on vacant homes, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan made his comments as the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing met to discuss the issue of vacancy and dereliction. “The Government is failing […]

The current mess should be cleaned up with one substantial new piece of legislation Repeated changes to legislation impacting renters is causing uncertainty and confusion for both tenants and landlords, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “In fewer than two years, the Government has introduced six bills to amend legislation affecting renters. Coming […]

How can anyone on an average income afford to save €52,000? News that the median deposit for first-time buyers is now €52,000 is further evidence of how unaffordable housing has become, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan was commenting after new figures from the Banking and Payments Federation found the median […]