Rory Hearne: Budget happened in a parallel universe with no housing crisis 

Even the new vacant property tax is tokenistic, argues Rory Hearne

For housing, the Budget was like something from a parallel universe. It had no new major action, ideas or additional investment in housing. Picture: PA

Does the Government still not understand the scale of the housing and homelessness disaster across the country? Why is it unwilling to take the visionary and bold action necessary to solve it? It is heartbreaking to see the ever-worsening housing situations people are experiencing; families evicted, children going into emergency accommodation, young people emigrating, vulnerable young people leaving state care into homelessness.

For housing, the Budget was like something from a parallel universe where no such emergency exists. It had no new major action, ideas or additional investment in housing. The Government is stuck in a half-way house, making tentative steps to get back into building social and affordable housing, yet still focused on ‘making the market work’, with developer subsidies (help-to-buy), tax breaks left in place for investor funds, and stubbornly refusing to freeze rents or banning evictions.