Welcome to the Irish Times Political Digest at the start of a week where - highly unusually - political coverage looks like it will be about policy and actual political things rather than personality crises and who is stabbing whom in the back.
Of course all of that might be undone by the time the two main political parties finish their weekly and parliamentary party meetings.
Housing Inflation for All
Is the property market going out of control? On Monday, two reports by daft.ie and MyHome.ie pointed to an average 9 per cent increase in asking prices for houses to above €300,000, as reported by Mark Hilliard.
Darragh O’Brien told him: “I don’t accept it’s out of control. “It’s not unique to Ireland either but it’s something we have to get a handle on and how we get a handle on that is actually increasing supply.”
Or, alternatively, another solution is to extend the buy-to-let scheme for another year.
Who came up with that bit of new information?
Yes, predictably, Leo Varadkar. He’s a bit like the slogan of The Irish Press of old: First with the News.
On a ministerial visit to Washington DC, the Tánaiste told Cormac McQuinn the help-to-buy scheme for first-time homeowners is set to be extended beyond the end of 2021 in the upcoming budget.
Varadkar said the increase in house prices is “unwelcome, particularly for people who are trying to buy a home for the first time or maybe want to upgrade because they have a growing family”.
Help-to-buy allows those buying or building new homes for the first time to claim relief of income tax and deposit interest retention tax (Dirt) paid over the previous four years up to a maximum of €30,000 or 10 per cent of the purchase price of the property.
Mica, pyrite and shifting political ground
Building defects in family homes has been an issue for over a decade, first with pyrite and now with mica. Anyone who has seen or read reports about homes built with defective Mica blocks in Co Donegal and elsewhere will know the devastation that has been caused to buildings. There are now at least six or seven counties affected by these substandard blocks.
It goes without saying that some of the blame lies with inadequate quality standards for construction which were in place until several years ago. Some of the blame lies elsewhere too.
At this stage, no politician is quibbling over compensation. The question is how much? Groups representing affected homeowners have mounted a relentless and, at times, very aggressive campaign. They have sought 100 per cent compensation to those who need to rebuild homes.
However, the Government has so far agreed to 90 per cent with a cap of €250,000. Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien set up a working group including representatives from campaign groups but some left because they did not want to compromise.
As Jennifer Bray and Mark Hilliard report, there are divisions in the ranks of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil over this issue. The Government is believed to be pressing for a cap on the scheme as they think an unlimited scheme could see the State exposed to huge and potentially uncontrollable costs.
However, Fine Gael TDs in affected counties such as Joe Carey of Co Clare, Alan Dillon in Co Mayo and Joe McHugh in Co Donegal are strongly pushing for a package of full compensation.
A compromise will have to be reached, possibly close to 100 per cent with a cap a good deal north of €250,000. A sum of €500,000 has been mentioned by some.
Elsewhere
Green Party chair to be contested?
Former Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu will face a challenger if she stands again for the chair of the party. The Galway Senator Pauline O’Reilly has announced her candidature. The two belong to the rival wings of the party.
Data Centres
Data Centres and the large amounts of energy they use will feature heavily this week. Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats has a private members Bill on Wednesday proposing a moratorium. The following day Bríd Smith of People Before Profit will present a similar Bill. Meanwhile, at the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Change today, an academic from Maynooth University, Patrick Bresnihan, says if all the proposals for data centres go ahead, they could be using up to 70 per cent of the national grid’s capacity by 2030.
Vaccine Task Force
Taoiseach Micheál Martin hosted the meeting of the Vaccine Task Force chaired by Professor Briain Mac Craith on Monday. It really has done fantastic work and it is one of the few policy areas where the Government cannot be criticised. Some 91.4 per cent of the eligible population is now fully vaccinated with 3.7 million doses administered. The group has met an impressive 44 times. There is anecdotal evidence though of a small but not insignificant number of ‘breakthrough’ infections - which possibly suggests why a third booster dose is now being pursued.
Bank Holiday
The bonus for frontline workers may be a bank holiday, but when? As soon as it was mentioned, almost every political representative from Co Kildare (for some unknown reason) suggested St Brigid’s Day, February 1st. Now Ciarán Cannon of Fine Gael (who is still recovering after a frightening cycling accident) has suggested a date in late November, close to the US Thanksgiving Day on November 25th. The rationale is obvious - an appropriate time of the year to remember and pay tribute to those who were at the coalface during the worst and most frightening days of the pandemic.
Best reads
This is a nice piece from Cormac McQuinn on Leo Varadkar's tribute to outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he described as warm and down-to-earth.
Cliff Taylor writes that the economy is no longer as exposed to house price shocks as it was in the late 2000s.
Playbook
The Cabinet meets on Tuesday. The three parties will speak before the meeting on how to treat the invitation to the church service in Armagh that Michael D Higgins declined. The talk is that Simon Coveney might be the person who will represent the Government. Micheál Martin could decide to go but he would face a lot of internal wrath within his own ranks. Among the items on the agenda for Ministers are a review of the national drugs strategy and a review of the Freedom Of Information Act.
In the Dáil there is a timely debate on Housing for All, given the news on house price hikes.
Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane brings forward a private member’s Bill proposing to deal with long waiting lists in hospitals.
In the Seanad, two technical Bills are being discussed - The Air Navigation and Transport Bill and the Defence (Amendment) Bill.
A lot of committees are in session today.
Transport and Communications is looking at the EU proposal for a Europe wide ‘digital identity wallet’, where people could have a digital wallet containing personal information such as a driving licence, bank account information and university results which would be private to them. The wallet could be used as personal identification used to enrol in a university, pay tax, check into airports or rent a car. It is an opt-in programme.
Environment and Climate Change will hears from three academics on different subjects: energy use in data centres; the case for exploring the use of hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels; and the phenomenon of large corporations suing government sunder the Energy Charter Treaty (this last discussion is linked to the controversy over the Canadian trade deal).
Justice is examining if our current portfolio of courthouses and courts are essentially fit for purpose.
The Children’s Committee is doing pre-legislative scrutiny of Roderic O’Gorman’s Birth Information and Tracing Bill.
Education is looking at Leaving Certificate Reform.
And finally Agriculture is looking at the Veterinary Practice Bill which proposes that a veterinary practice can’t be owned by a non-vet.
