Eamon Ryan says Government will build 40,000 new houses in 2024
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan after delivering his speech during the Green Party conference at the RDS in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
The Government will deliver 40,000 new houses in 2024, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has promised.
The Environment Minister has said that the Government will deliver beyond the existing housing targets for this year.
Under Housing for All, the delivery target for 2024 is 33,450 new build houses.
In his keynote speech at the Green Party conference in Dublin, the Environment Minister said that everyone is “acutely aware” of the ongoing housing crisis.
“We are all acutely aware of the shortage of housing for our young people. We will build 40,000 homes this year and if we can keep adding to that number we will start to solve the housing crisis,” Mr Ryan said.
“It is, however, not just a question of which party can promise you the highest number of new builds. What matters just as much is how we make these homes affordable and create strong communities.”
He said that the housing market had been “fundamentally changed” through the introduction of the cost-rental model, which removes profit margins.
The Green Party leader added that the party has further supported housing affordability through the restoration of derelict and vacant properties over the last four years.
Addressing the ongoing war in Gaza, Mr Ryan said that the continued denial of basic rights for Palestinians in their homeland makes it “hard to escape the conclusion that they are being forced to live in an apartheid regime”.
“The two-state solution has to be delivered, not parked in a diplomatic void,” Mr Ryan said.
Mr Ryan said that, while Ireland supports the right of the Israeli state to exist, the ongoing attacks in Gaza “only does your cause more harm”.
“A two-state solution is your only hope of raising your children in peace, when your neighbours’ security and prosperity is also guaranteed. It is not just what has happened in the last six months.
“The real problem has been the treatment of the Palestinian people over the last 60 years.”
In his speech, Mr Ryan also addressed the recent protests that took place outside Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s home, saying that the masked individuals do not represent the general public.
“The masked men who gathered outside his home last Thursday night do not represent our people or our national flag. They do a disservice to it.
“We surely cannot let such intimidation hold sway,” Mr Ryan said.
He said that voters currently have a choice to make, adding that “alternative politics” based on fear and division is currently on the rise across the country.
“I wouldn’t define it as a right wing or conservative movement because it seems to have little regard for traditional values. Nihilism might be the better term. They seem to reject everything that is good with an anger that in the end will be corrosive and self-destructive,” he said.
“The Gospel I grew up with never said the Good Samaritan should have walked on by.
“Similarly, the patriots we admired, from Tone to O’Connell and Connolly to Pearse, all had an international perspective to their national pride.
“I don’t think they would be at home with the simplistic idea that Ireland is now full. The Republic we adhere and aspire to is a tolerant one, respectful of every colour or creed, celebrating diversity and providing shelter to those in need.”
Mr Ryan also hit out at opposition parties, saying that some engage in “the politics of scepticism” and that they depict Ireland as a “failed State”.
“We have our weakness undoubtedly but Ireland is not a bad country to live in. Many of us love the place.”
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