Housing Association calls on Government for immediate action

Respond!, Ireland’s largest housing association is calling on the government to do more for the Irish housing sector as new figures emerge detailing that the amount of new homes being built is down 22% on the same time period last year. The housing charity maintains the government should move away from the current housing model which has economics at its core and gives little consideration to the social or societal implications of housing. Respond! argues that economics cannot be the principle definer of housing policy in Ireland.

Pat Cogan, Managing Director of Respond! said: “With various commentators predicting a recession in the housing sector, we urge the government not to repeat the mistakes of 2003 / 2004 when the country last experienced a dip in the economy. At that time, rather than increase the level of funding for social housing when it was most needed, the government instead reduced the level of funding to not only housing associations, but also to Local Authorities. At a time when the greatest need for housing was being exhibited by those on Local Authority waiting lists, social housing output almost grounded to a halt while the private housing sector experienced a huge surge in output.”

Speaking at Respond! International Conference on October 11th, Eddie Hobbs warned of the need for immediate action for government: “A radical re-think of the power structures in Irish Society is needed to avoid the very significant fall-out in the future from the two-tier economy we have built,” said Eddie Hobbs.” The facts are that the dynamics of the property market, and not just developers, are overwhelmingly stacked against our youngest and most vulnerable citizens,” Mr Hobbs warned.

Respond! also feels that the government should do more to regulate the cost of land in Ireland, as well as the continuing increase in residential property prices. According to recent figures contained in the Quarterly Housing Statistics Bulletin, the average cost of a new house is €331,947, an increase of 7% on last year. However, the average Respond! Affordable House is currently sold at €160,000 – showing a substantial difference.

“With the exception of land and profit costs, houses would continue to have been affordable by more people. However, in failing to regulate prices, successive governments have turned a blind eye to the social consequences where life-long mortgages now define the coping ability of many young families, not to mention the increasing cost of childcare” Pat Cogan, ofm, added. “We feel the effects on people are long-lasting, and on society are incalculable.”

These issues and many more were discussed at Respond!’s International Conference on October 11th and 12th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin. The title of the conference is Housing: Do we know what we’re doing? Critique of policy and provision and speakers included Eddie Hobbs (Broadcaster and Financial Consultant), Mick Wallace (Managing Director of Wallace Construction), John Fitzgerald (Chairman, Limerick Regeneration Agencies.

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