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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar should clarify the misleading statements he made this morning Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was wrong to suggest the government had listened to advice from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on increasing funding for housing, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “On Morning Ireland today, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar claimed the […]

The government is not a mere bystander in this crisis – it must play an active role The government has no coherent plan to increase the number of apprenticeships in key trades in the construction industry, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Taoiseach Micheál Martin has encouraged young people finishing their Leaving Cert […]

At every turn, the Minister for Housing has put the interests of big developers ahead of those struggling to buy an affordable homes It is utterly unacceptable that thousands of affordable homes will be lost because of an exemption for developers contained in the Minister’s new housing plan, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian […]

This is a crisis that will only be solved with urgent action and ambition The Government’s new target to provide just 240 Housing First tenancies per year is not good enough, according to the Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Tonight, more than 8,000 people will sleep in emergency homeless accommodation. This includes 930 families […]

The reality is this government has just one overarching idea to solve the housing crisis – increase exorbitant house prices even further It has taken more than a year in office for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to publish a housing plan that is short on both ambition and imagination, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson […]

Purging tents may disappear homeless people from the streets, but it does nothing to address the underlying problem The proliferation of tents in Dublin is not a sign of the city’s “edginess”, but a sign of the government’s failure to tackle our housing and homelessness crises, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Speaking […]

Dublin is now the most expensive city in Europe in which to build Breaking the cartel on development land is the key to tackling sky-rocketing house prices, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “According to the CSO, house prices rose by 6.9pc in June – the fastest level of growth in two and […]

In 2005, almost 600 people took up apprenticeships to become a brick layer – this year, that figure is just 63  The government has failed to address a chronic skills deficit in the construction industry, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Prof John Fitzgerald has warned the government will have to choose between […]

While the Minister dithers, the crisis deepens The government’s failure to tackle the rental crisis means rents have continued to surge, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Today’s daft.ie report reveals the abject failure of this government to tackle the rental crisis. Rents climbed by an average annual rate of 5.6pc in the second quarter […]

It is clear the Government’s policies are failing renters New research from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) shows out-of-control rents are unsustainable and unconscionable, according to according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Research by the RTB shows rents are out of control. Half of all renters pay more than 30pc of their take-home […]