Motion criticises housing policy

A JOINT Labour/Sinn Féin private members’ motion seeks “once and for all” to “banish the mindset that the primary purpose of housing development is profit for speculators”.

Labour environment spokesman Ciarán Lynch reiterated the party’s call for “a moratorium on house repossessions” during the recession, “an expanded programme of social housing, new measures to deal with homelessness, stronger protection for tenants in rented accommodation and legislation to regulate the activities of management companies”. Mr Lynch said the consistent theme of the “Fianna Fáil developer-led Government” had been to “focus on sorting out the developers; focus on getting new developments built; then at some stage in the future maybe get around to sorting the problems of schools, transportation, green spaces and common areas”.

However Minister of State for Housing Michael Finneran said the motion was “ill-judged” and described their views on housing as “reckless scaremongering”. He insisted the Government had made considerable progress in meeting housing needs.