In the lead-up to the last general election, the Taoiseach cynically misled the public about how many homes would be delivered. This was a blatant attempt to give the impression he was turning the corner on housing delivery. In reality, he was driving it off a cliff. We were told 40,000 homes would be delivered in 2024; in fact, it was 30,300, nearly 25% short of the target. The Taoiseach and Government have been consistently moving the goalposts when it comes to housing targets. Now, in the most blatant move to avoid accountability yet, they have elected to take the goalposts off the pitch entirely because not only have they removed annual targets from their long-awaited, much-hyped housing plan but the overall target goes beyond the lifetime of the Government. I have to ask: is the Taoiseach actually serious? It is clear to everyone paying attention that the housing Minister is bereft of new ideas, dusting off old policy measures that have demonstrably failed. The Government wanted to reduce apartment sizes to reduce costs, something that has been tried not once but twice: Deputy Alan Kelly did it first when he was housing Minister in 2015, followed by Eoghan Murphy in 2018. It did not work on either of those occasions. I know, the Taoiseach knows and we all know it will not work now. The Government had a chance to abandon those plans this week when it was forced to withdraw them at the High Court but we are told it is still determined to plough on. Tens of thousands of people across this country were hoping against hope for a radical reset of housing policy. With this plan, they are left with their head in their hands. Under the Government's latest so-called affordable housing scheme, a minimum salary of €56,000 is required to buy a one-bed apartment. What is affordable about that? That is too expensive for teachers, retail workers, gardaí, nurses and the vast majority of workers on average incomes. The Taoiseach's old plans failed these people and let us face it: the new one will too. The Government has no credibility on housing. Its record is one of continued failure and continued refusal to acknowledge it, no matter how bad things get but strip away all the spin and this is what the latest housing plan amounts to: a public declaration of failure. Instead of changing course, it is trying to avoid being held to account, removing targets so it is easier to disguise its failure. You could not make it up. How many homes will the Government deliver over its lifetime?
Sentiment score: -0.08
No, that is until 2030.
Sentiment score: -0.30
The only thing more predictable than this Government's plans failing is the Taoiseach's weekly attempt to come in here and blame the Opposition, the planning system or the courts for a mess of the Government's own creation. The fact is the Government is driving housing off a cliff and the best the housing Minister can do is to tell people to hang in there. Hang in there and do what exactly? Should they hang in there and pay rents of €2,000 or €3,000 per month indefinitely? Should they hang in there and pay €500,000 for what the Government calls a starter home? At what point will the Government admit its plan is not working and listen to some of the ideas coming from the Social Democrats? We have continually proposed policy measures that would make a huge difference. The Taoiseach mentioned the State savings scheme. That is not in the plan. We put forward suggestions like the State acquiring a modular homes factory, zoning land for affordable housing and introducing a vacancy tax with teeth.
Sentiment score: 0.06
The list goes on and on. The Government votes them down consistently. I will ask again. What are the Government's targets for the lifetime of this Government, not to 2030?
Sentiment score: 0.00
Will the Taoiseach answer the question?
Sentiment score: 0.00