Mick Clifford: Government needs to come clean on housing numbers

In a housing crisis, information should be power — but murky statistics and unanswered questions are blocking public understanding

The first apartments at Cork City’s Marina Quarter are due to come on stream early in 2027, as part of an estimated €525m development of more than 1,000 homes. Picture: Larry Cummins

Numbers are potent in politics. Numbers are easily presented, easily understood. So we have a big emphasis on matters like the number of gardaí who are employed by the State. More recently, we have been getting numbers on how much crime has been committed by people who are out on bail.

Numbers in both these issues don’t tell a full picture. How exactly gardaí are deployed is as important as how many are employed. Policing with smarts is much better than having a bumped-up complement who are not being used to the best effect.