Mick Clifford: Housing is more than just a numbers game

Housing was the main issue at the last election and almost definitely will be at the next one. In such a milieu, the long term tends to be placed way out on the long finger

An artist's impression of the development planned for Drumcondra, fearing some 1,592 housing units.

Numbers matter greatly in politics. Numbers are easily understood, easily messaged. Back in the days of the Celtic Tiger, numbers were all the rage in what was one of the burning political issues of the day. As most of the country lived high on the hog, the issue of crime came to the fore. Antisocial behaviour, petty crime, burglaries, and then serious drug-related crime all weighed heavily on the public consciousness.

The answer to everything was to increase the size of An Garda Síochána. The Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats government said it was responsible for ensuring there were 13,000 gardaí in the country. Fine Gael saw its 13,000 and raised it another thousand. The party would put 14,000 on the street to “solve” the crime issue. The government raised it further, promising that ultimately there would be 15,000 gardaí.