Letter to the Editor: We may be sleepwalking into an even deeper housing crisis
Letter writer Liam Burke points out that Ireland was capable of building homes 'with not a bob in the country'Â â in this instance a new council housing scheme opened in Clonmel, Co Tipperary in June 1933. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive
Former tĂĄnaiste Dick Spring was fearful the electorate might âsleepwalk into another five years of the same old same oldâ â (Irish Examiner, November 25). And he believes that âat the end of it, there will be more alienation, more poverty and hardship, and more unnecessary suffering in a more and more uncertain worldâ.
Dick Springâs worst fears could now become a reality, as it now seems very likely that both Fianna FĂĄil and Fine Gael will form the next government, and many are not at all convinced that situations will improve over the next few years for the many thousands who cannot afford a house at present.
Also, rents will probably remain unaffordable for thousands, and very ill, elderly patients will continue to die on trolleys while waiting for a bed in a hospital. The above scandals are a disgrace and there would be riots in many other countries if a similar situation prevailed.
It is difficult to disagree with Mr Springâs opinion that âone of the biggest government mistakesâ over the past 20 years âwas to transfer the business of building houses for people to the private sector, which was a disastrous foolhardy decisionâ.
On that point, he also reminded readers âthat local authority housebuilding reached a peak in 1984 under a Labour ministerâ.Â
He admitted that the situation at that time was not easy, âwe had our difficulties, but we were driven by the need to decrease housing lists, and we did itâ.Â
He added, unlike now, âhouses were available and affordableâ at that time.
I recently came across a Kilkenny newspaper called dated Wednesday, March 1, 1950, almost 75 years ago.Â
During that particular week, the Bishop of Ossory, Dr Collier, blessed and opened 120 new houses in the Kennyswell area of Kilkenny City. Ald MJ Keyes, a Limerick TD who was the minister for local government, also attended the opening.
This was at a time when Ireland was very badly off (with not a bob in the country, you could say), but still a new house was being constructed in Kilkenny every four days.Â
Emigration was very high due to unemployment during the 50s and is still high now â not due to unemployment, but many young, highly educated people are getting out of Ireland, as they have no prospect of acquiring a house, with rents among the highest in the world.
A shameful situation.Â
Even rural GAA clubs are suffering because some of their best players have emigrated, and now these unfortunates have more friends in Australia, the US, or Dubai, than at home.
Our esteemed President, Michael D Higgins, commented on our lack of housing in January 2022. He said at that time that it âwas not a crisis anymore, but a disaster. It has been our great, great failureâ he said, while adding that âbuilding houses are what is important, not to be a star performer for the speculative sector internationally or anything elseâ.
And even that strong criticism from Mr Higgins went unheeded by the last Government, who never commented at the time, and who never really increased their efforts to solve what is Irelandâs greatest disaster of the 21st century. It should have ensured that they would be confined to the back benches for at least the next five years.
However, the electorate in their wisdom decided who will form the next government, and that is democracy as we know it, but can you see a change for the better in Ireland over the next few years?Â
Maybe you can, but I just cannot.
In light of the relatively low 59.71% voter turnout in the general election, serious consideration should be given to offering voters an online option of voting.
There is much debate about the most appropriate day of the week to hold a general election, especially in relation to third-level students and those working during voting hours or unable to make it to the polling station for whatever reason.
An online electronic option would render this debate somewhat redundant. The in-person voting system should continue, but each polling station should have an up-to-date electronic register of voters to ensure there is no multiple voting. With increased and improved broadband, the availability of electronic registers should not be a problem. A hard copy of the register should be available as a safeguard. This on its own may not solve the low voter turnout, but along with extensive education and publicity campaigns, it should help increase the national turnout.
When all the proverbial election dust has settled and the analysis is looked at, one phase which may be seen as a pivotal moment was when Fianna FĂĄil party leader MicheĂĄl Martin uttered the phrase â with particular reference to his Government partner â to âstop the phoney warâ.
That ârequestâ and timely warning shot was, in fact, in hindsight, a lifebelt being thrown to Fine Gael, even though they probably in their initial exuberance of pleasing polls felt that the finishing line was just a foregone conclusion.
My congratulations to MicheĂĄl Martin â he said the late Jack Lynch was his political hero â were he alive he would be chuffed at the election results.
Isnât it amazing after all the canvassing, leadersâ debates, hype, and polls, we are back to where we started, except for the Green Partyâs virtual elimination?
Will we be any better off, though?
Will we see the homeless, housing, or even the medical crisis, which has plagued us for decades, improve?
For those of us who voted, will anything change?
The party that led us to virtual financial ruin will have a mandate, with its majority, to lead the next government.
Isnât it truly amazing that we reward parties, even when they fail us or who still live by their deep-seated ideologies? How quickly we forgive and forget. There were a number of positives though, with Wallace, Daly, Hutch, and Barry (PBP) not being elected.
So it wasnât all that bad.
GardaĂ have confirmed that Blackrock Rowing Club were wrongly named in a Garda statement during an inquest at Cork City Coronerâs Court on Thursday, November 21.
The club (and all local rowing clubs) had nothing to do with the referenced river rowing event, which we are not eligible to row in.
Our club is a coastal rowing club which is a completely different rowing discipline. Our boats had been stored away for the winter and were not launched until two weeks after that event. Blackrock Rowing Club members are extremely respectful to everyone who uses the river and we would always be mindful of the difficult work that the gardaĂ and rescue services have to endure on a daily basis. We hope this clarifies the situation.
Almost everyone wants better this and better that, more of this and less of that, but the real issue is âthe howâ â how you get the job done.
But hereâs the rub: While politics is the art of the possible, the gap between FF/FG and other potential partners is as wide or narrow as the gap between the possible and the practical, between theory and practice, and between policy and implementation.
It seems completely and utterly ludicrous, in the face of a climate emergency, for newly elected TD Ken OâFlynn to declare he is putting on a âgreenâ jersey and then mention that a top priority for him in government is a ring-road for Cork City.
This must be the elusive âcommon senseâ of which the Independent Ireland Party feels it is the self-appointed gatekeeper.
The new US commerce secretary is a chap called Howard Lutnick. He has mentioned Ireland specifically when it comes to imposing US tariffs. It seems that Mr Lutnick canât believe that the US runs a trade deficit with Ireland.
Our new government will quickly realise this is the sort of environment I think we are heading into. I suspect this will be a regular topic of political discussion in the weeks and months ahead.
It will be most intriguing to see how the political system in Ireland, and indeed elsewhere, reacts to these global developments, which are actually going to be much more important than what happens to potholes in the UK, France, or indeed Ireland.
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