Mick Clifford: Government solution to housing crisis is to pander to vested interests while young people lose out

First-time buyers are the ultimate losers in the current system when Government policy is designed to deliver huge profits to private interests

The ultimate losers in the current system are first-time buyers, who have to fork out for the uplift in the price of land on which their new homes are built. File picture

Every now and again, we get a glimpse of why housing is in such a mess. There are winners and losers, constituencies who hold power, and those who have none. Generally, the losers and the powerless represent the same, usually young, cohort of the population.

Currently, there is uproar among residents in West Dublin over a proposal to rezone land in order to build 500 homes. The site is in the Liffey Valley and adjoins an area of special conservation. There have been various attempts over the last 35 years to earmark housing for this area, in a city that is greatly expanding. The Irish Times reported on Monday there have been about 1,600 “submissions” about the proposal. For submission, read objection.