Government's housing ambitions are lacking, say Budget critics

While TDs, and prospective general election candidates, in the Government parties tried to present the best side of Tuesday’s budget announcements and their impact in Cork constituencies, opposition politicians and others responded with a chorus of “missed opportunity” and a refrain of “once-off measures”.

In housing, considerable allocations were announced by Finance Minister Jack Chambers and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohue, with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage set to receive €7.9bn .

The headline provisions in housing allocate €6bn in capital funding for housing and a €2.7bn package for Uisce Éireann to deliver water infrastructure necessary to housing development.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the housing measures could be “best described as too little and too late”.

The Cork South West TD pointed to the “continued lack of ambition” as she described the housing budget as the “biggest failure”.

“The Government have acknowledged that their housing targets are too low, that we need to get to at least 50,000 houses per year,” said Ms Cairns.

“Despite this, there wasn’t a single reference to the delivery of any additional social or affordable homes in the budget yesterday.

“This Government clearly have no confidence in their own ability to deliver these increased targets.

“And given that they have failed to reach any of their social and affordable housing targets in any year they have been in office, the public have long ago lost confidence also.”

The Social Democrats leader’s criticism of the lack of targets for building social and affordable homes came against the backdrop of the publication last week of the highest ever homelessness figures.

Simon Communities of Ireland executive director Wayne Stanley said the Government needs to increase the current annual target for the delivery of social housing beyond 10,000.

“The big picture is that the State needs to be working towards delivering 15,000 social homes a year.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin yesterday said that a target was not a ceiling.

Ms Cairns also described as “pathetic” the 5% increase in stamp duty on the bulk-buying of properties, from 10% to 15%, and said that her party had been continually describing this tax as too low.

“The housing minister refused to listen,” she said.

“Throughout all that time, the Government remained firmly on the side of vultures.

“First-time buyers cannot and should not have to compete with billion-dollar funds.

“That’s why the Social Democrats have been calling for a 100% tax, an effective ban on vulture funds bulk buying homes, for years now.”

She pointed to the previous 10% stamp duty imposed on the bulk purchase of homes by vulture funds and described it as too low.

It has been a constant complaint from Cork County Council that delayed delivery of wastewater treatment plants has held up the development of housing around the county.

Ten houses which have lain empty in Carrignavar for several years because the local wastewater treatment plant is above capacity has been held up as an example of this.

Another issue has been the failure of the two local authorities in Cork, — as well as other county and city councils around the country — to deal effectively with dereliction and vacancy.

The vacant homes tax has been increased, but Ms Cairns said the measure could not be described as a “disincentive from sitting on an empty house while prices are sky-rocketing by 10%”.

“The Government’s half-measures won’t work — in fact, they’re designed to fail,” said the TD for West Cork.

“All while around 100,000 homes are lying empty around the country and there are now nearly four and a half thousand children in homelessness.”

Meanwhile, Cork-based anti-dereliction campaigner Frank O’Connor said Budget 2025 was a “missed opportunity to transfer the responsibility of dereliction levy collection to the Revenue department”.

“The councils have had 34 years to collect the money, they have failed miserably, resulting in a dereliction epidemic,” said Mr O’Connor, in reference to the Derelict Sites Act of 1990.

He was also critical of the failure to substantially increase the vacant homes tax.

“The budget also presented a timely opportunity to increase the vacant homes tax to international levels of 5%, rising every year, which would have greatly pressurised owners to release the properties back on the market.

“The increase... has been largely tokenistic and will continue to be largely ineffective,” he said.

Mr O’Connor welcomed the increase from €50m to €80m in the total budget for renovating derelict and empty homes, but said that the introduction of staged payments, if it happens, would see a further increase in demand.