Rory Hearne: Housing for All is a defining moment for the Government and for all of us who need homes

If the new plan is to work, it must be more than a series of soundbites and vague commitments with no realistic delivery plan. It has to be backed by sufficient funding and clear ways in which it is going to be implemented

Rory Hearne: The key figure that should be focused on, is what will the State build itself in this new plan, where is the funding for it, and what exact numbers of social, cost rental, and affordable purchase homes will be built by the State each year? File picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Housing, we have learned the hard way, is one of the most basic and fundamental requirements we need to live a life of dignity. 

Yet in this country, successive government policies handed the delivery of this key social good to the private market and investors. As a result, we are currently lost, trying to find our way through storm after storm of housing crises. We urgently need a new map, a plan of action that can create a housing system that ensures affordable, secure, sustainable homes in living communities, for everyone.