Irish Examiner view: Housing plan needs targets to be viable
One of the emerging narratives about this year’s budget is that it has been a good one for builders and developers. File picture: Dan Linehan
Discussion of Budget 2026 continues, which is hardly a surprise.
When a single announcement such as Tuesday’s can reach into everyone’s consciousness — by way of their pockets — then teasing out the fine print of such an announcement obviously takes some time.
One of the emerging narratives about this year’s budget is that it has been a good one for builders and developers.
That impression is reinforced by the welcome given by the Construction Industry Federation to the measures introduced by finance minister Paschal Donohoe.
Among those measures, which aim to incentivise development, are reducing Vat applied to the sale of completed apartments from 13.5% to 9% from now until the end of 2030, and committing €5bn in capital investment for housing delivery next year, in addition to investment by the Land Development Agency and approved housing bodies.
Taking on the housing and accommodation crisis, which must the most pressing and urgent challenge which faces the country, is laudable.
However, long experience has taught us all to be wary of measures which seem laudable on paper but may never be enacted in a meaningful way in practice.
The reduction in Vat on apartment sales, for instance, seems a promising move in theory, but hard-pressed house-hunters could be forgiven for doubting whether it will manifest itself in the real world.
Simply put, will that reduction be passed on in actual apartment prices?
It is also unclear what impact these initiatives will have on the elusive national housing plan, given we have not yet seen that plan.
In that sense, a radio interview by housing minister James Browne was instructive — and a little concerning.
Stating that the housing plan would be published by “the end of the month or start of November”, he went on to say: “I know people love targets, but you know, targets don’t build houses. What builds houses is decisions...”
However, results can only be evaluated in relation to meeting or missing targets.
Without targets, this housing plan will be nothing more than vague aspiration.
Readers are no doubt aware of the proliferation of weight-loss drugs in recent years, with celebrities of all kinds acknowledging their use of semaglutide and tirzepitide GLP-1 drugs to explain their changed appearances on the red carpet.
These are medications originally intended to help people with diabetes but which are now used by many to lose weight; readers may be more familiar with brand names such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy.
Given the attention lately focused on US president Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff war, readers may be unaware that there is an obesity drug war under way as well, with Ireland one of the main battlegrounds.
As outlined here this week by Emer Walsh, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk broke through in this area with Ozempic and Wegovy, but in recent months it has been challenged by US multinational Eli Lilly and its products, Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Furthermore, many doctors and consumers now consider the Eli drugs more effective alternatives to Novo’s offering.
The battle for market supremacy has led to Novo declaring last month that it would cut 9,000 jobs worldwide, or 11% of its total workforce.
The company informed the Government that it would cut jobs at its facility in Athlone, which it purchased in May 2024 from Alkermes for €77m.
It is believed that around 115 Irish roles will be affected.
By contrast, Eli Lilly’s revenue for the second quarter of this year jumped by 38% to €13.2bn, largely driven by demand for its weight-management drugs.
This came in the wake of a September 2024 announcement that it would invest over €1.6bn to expand its manufacturing footprint in Ireland — it has had a presence here since 1978 — as it increased production capacity.
The wider implications of these drugs being used for cosmetic purposes may trouble some readers, for whom the notion of a pill to suppress one’s appetite may sound like science fiction.
It may also be slightly unnerving to realise that the phenomenon of celebrities wowing their fans on the red carpet in Hollywood is linked so directly to employment and opportunity in Ireland.
The results of the Junior Certificate examinations were issued on Wednesday, with more than 73,000 students receiving their grades, a slight increase in numbers compared to 2024.
There were significant changes in the marking scheme for this year’s examination, which have led to a large jump in the number of distinctions awarded, from 3.6% last year to 8.6% this year.
The mark required to achieve a distinction changed from any mark at or above 90% to any score at or above 85%.
The second-highest grade, higher merit, was changed to 70%-85% having been 75%-90%.
A more significant, if less permanent, change was made to the English results when it emerged that many schools had not taught the short story included in the test.
The Junior Certificate may not be the milestone it once was, but it is still a significant staging post for many students, even if it is largely used to help those students to choose their Leaving Certificate subjects.
Congratulations to all those 73,000-plus students who received their results.
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