Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín attacked the government’s rent increasing policy in the Dáil today. He did so from a different perspective than all other opposition parties. An Teachta Tóibín stated:
“The debate in this chamber over the last 10 years has singularly been about supply. Leaving Cert economics will tell you that demand is also playing a large part in this crisis.
The population of Ireland has increased by 382,000 people in the last 5 years. This is more than the total population of county Galway, Mayo and Leitrim. These counties have 7 hospitals, 3 universities, 400 schools and 170,000 houses. You are not building that level of infrastructure every 5 years.
It is one of the most basic rules of economics, if you increase demand without increasing supply, rents and houses prices will rise and availability will reduce.
There is a lot of talk in this chamber about sustainability. It is unsustainable to allow the demand of housing exceed supply of housing ever year.
An Teachta Tóibín also called for a reduction in VAT and connection fees on each new house.
He stated:
“You could have achieved viability without hurting hard pressed renters by cutting VAT and connection fees on new build houses. Vat and connection fees work out at €50,000 per housing unit. This would have reduced the price of homes for families. It would have increased viability for the many small builders who are not building. It would have increased supply.
But viability is not the only problem within the market. Planning and Infrastructure dysfunctionality are breaks on house building.
Uisce Éireann have told us that it will take until 2050 before all the gaps in the water infrastructure system, that are blocking the building of homes will be filled.
Planning, permitting, licencing procurement, tendering and Judicial Reviews, all tools in the hands of this government, are glacial.
Without these barriers to building removed, activation wont work. Your policy will see rents surge without delivery increasing. CRIOCH
