‘Fatal flaws’ in Government housing policy highlighted

The director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute has pointed to three “fatal flaws” in the Government’s approach to solving the housing crisis and warns the problem “may very well get worse before it gets better”.

Tom Healy’s comments come after another leading economist, Alan McQuaid of Merrion, warned politicians appear “not to have learned the lessons from the property crash and financial crisis” in relation to lack of housing supply which, CSO figures confirmed yesterday, is continuing to drive up prices.

Mr Healy said there has been a “government failure” due to conscious decisions over three decades to outsource activity more and more to the private sector, to fail to get to grips with the price of development land and to under-invest “by huge amounts” in necessary social housing.