Sir, – Another day, another tweak to the failed housing policy (“Extra measures to speed up home building to be considered by Cabinet”, News, April 22nd).
The “new” measures consist of squeezing even more tax money into the pockets of individuals and entities by way of extra grants and the waiving of construction levies.
Why is it so difficult to get the Government to see that the reason the housing crisis persists, and is getting worse, is because of the policy at work, central to which is the reliance on the “market” to provide social housing, just does not work.
What will work is an approach which sees the State focusing on ensuring that social housing need is met, leaving the private sector to meet demand for private housing.
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When social housing need is met, the demand on the private sector will greatly moderate, which in turn will improve accessibility to those who wish to purchase.
In any event, the State’s housing obligations surely cease once sufficient social housing is available to all who need it. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.
