Irish Examiner view: Easy money for back-yard opportunists
The Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to allow modular units to be rented on the open market, File picture
The Government’s latest initiative to tackle the housing crisis could be seen as an overt challenge to the long-established Nimby culture.
Far from “not in my back yard”, the housing plan approved this week is “very much in my back yard”, as it allows homeowners to build modular housing units in their back gardens and rent them out.
The Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to allow such units to be rented on the open market, but with one major change from an earlier version of this plan: The Government has shelved proposals to restrict the use of such units to the rent-a-room scheme, which permits up to €14,000 a year in tax-free rental income.
Parking that proposal casts a somewhat different light on this plan, as pinpointed by Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin, who was swift to warn that this has the potential to lead to a “proliferation of very, very poor quality, very expensive rental units”.
In contrast, the Taoiseach and the minister for housing were unsurprisingly positive in their assessments of the scheme — the former described it as “practical and pragmatic” while the latter promised tight regulation, but the fears raised by Mr Ó Broin are based on firm ground.
It is now common to see posts on social media which feature pictures of accommodation which is both grossly unsuitable and staggeringly expensive.
The fact that a cohort of unscrupulous landlords is happy to exploit the desperation of prospective tenants does not augur well for this scheme; no matter how firm the regulation, enforcement is required for it to work.
Government assurances that this proposal will be kept under review, and revisited if necessary, are welcome, and this measure should be seen for what it is — a temporary measure aimed at offering relief to the hard-pressed rather than a permanent feature of our housing policy.
However, the pressing need to house people cannot result in those same tenants being mistreated by opportunists.
The long shadow cast by the recent fuel protests fell across the Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference this week.
Those in attendance heard that gardaí have been targeted since those protests, with some members directly involved in policing the protests having their addresses shared online.
One garda said his address had been repeatedly shared online after he had worked at the blockade of the oil refinery at Whitegate in East Cork; other gardaí had more details shared online — not only their home addressess, but the stations where they work and, in some cases, even the schools which their children attend.
This is a deeply sinister development which should be addressed immediately.
It is a direct attack on the rule of law in the State, and those responsible should be pursued and held accountable.
It is intimidation, pure and simple, and should not be tolerated.
The fuel protests were without a parallel in our recent history, not least because they may have set another concerning precedent.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly had to declare an “exceptional event” — cancelling all annual leave and rest days — to ensure sufficient gardaí were available to police the protests, which were all the more challenging because of the variety of locations where they occurred.
Now, another imminent event will see many parts of the country requiring garda manpower to maintain security at formal and informal occasions.
The GRA conference in Westport, Mayo, heard concerns that the forthcoming EU presidency will have to declared an “exceptional event” because the force may not have sufficient resources to police all of its associated functions, meetings, and assorted events.
It is hardly surprising that the conference heard calls for a national policing plan for such events and for improvements in admission procedures for the Garda College in Templemore.
The fuel protests may have accidentally shown where gardaí need support and resources most.
And, ironically, strengthened their hand in calling for the same.
The media focus on the announcement that one of the biggest technology companies on the planet is to get a new boss shows the global significance such companies, if that were ever in doubt.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook is to be replaced after 15 years at the helm by the company’s chief executive vice president of hardware, 51-year-old John Ternus.
Cook’s tenure can only be described as wildly successful in terms of revenue: In 2018, Apple became the first public company to be valued at $1tn, and it is now worth four times that figure, so Ternus has some big shoes to fill.
Apple, along with the likes of Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, is one of those organisations which are so powerful and influential that the departure of a chief executive will always be newsworthy.
However, it is also fair to say that there may be more Irish interest in Apple than in some of those other tech giants.
Apple has had a significant presence in Cork for over 40 years and employs over 6,000 people in Ireland.
There will consequently be keen interest here in Ternus’s plans, but those of his predecessor are also interesting.
In a departure statement, Cook said that he would stay on through the summer to help his replacement with the transition, after which he would “assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world”.
Will we see him in Ireland soon engaging with policymakers?
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