Government housing economics has failed many Irish Families

GOVERNMENT HOUSING ECONOMICS HAS FAILED MANY IRISH FAMILIES
Dublin Bus carries Respond!’s message on inequality in housing

Ireland’s largest housing association is today, March 11th 2008, launching a new advocacy campaign aimed at engaging people to debate the inequalities which exist in the Irish housing market. The fortnight long campaign will run city wide throughout Dublin on more than 30 Dublin bus routes. With the slogan “Housing – More than Economics”, Respond! is contending that economics has been the principal definer of housing policy in Ireland, to the detriment of many families.

Respond! has been predicting for many years that bad housing economics have resulted in mortgage instability and repossession for many couples. This is clearly evident in the number of people having their homes repossessed which rose by 33% in 2007. Unfortunately this looks set to rise even further in 2008 as the High Court, in its first two sittings of the New Year, has already heard 26 cases. This is more than the combined total for the previous four sittings before Christmas.

The housing charity contends that bad housing policy on the part of current and previous governments has resulted in young families being made vulnerable to exorbitant mortgage repayments. In addition, negative equity reigns in the housing market to the disadvantage of many hard-pressed families who are struggling on a daily basis to make ends meet. No doubt this will also create a domino effect and increase the already overcrowded Local Authority housing waiting list which was last calculated in 2005 as 43,000 households (approximately 32,000 children).

“The volume of home ownership in Ireland is at 74% and in recent years we believe this has come at a cost in excess of its sheer monetary value,” added Pat Cogan, ofm. “The promotion of owner occupation, in tandem with unregulated costs of land and residences is akin to condemning a large proportion of young families to life-long debt, of a nature far more risky and debilitating than that which previous generations took in respect of their home ownership. That is why Respond! has decided to launch this new advocacy campaign – we want to provide individuals with an outlet to voice their concerns about the housing market and to know that there are organisations out there whose primary focus is not on profit.”

This is the first time Respond! has embarked on this type of advocacy campaign and intend to use any feedback they receive in future negotiations with government departments. Founded in 1982, they are Ireland’s largest not for profit housing association and seek to create a positive future for people by alleviating poverty and creating vibrant, socially integrated communities. They do this by providing access to education, childcare, community development programmes, housing and other supports. Respond! can be contacted on 1800 228 466 (1800 Action) or by emailing info@respond.ie.