A home is a right and not just a commodity

When the Government unveiled its social housing strategy last November it announced its intention to accommodate everyone (90,000 households) on the Housing Waiting Lists by 2020.

Even with a budget of €3.8bn, it is difficult to see how this can be achieved. There has been little or no investment in social housing for decades and waiting lists have trebled since the 1990s.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly said on Thursday that more than €151m has been allocated for construction and purchase of 1,000 social housing units across the country.