Union warns on house profiteering

The vice-president of SIPTU, Mr Des Geraghty, has warned the Government that it must tackle "excessive housing profiteering" …

The vice-president of SIPTU, Mr Des Geraghty, has warned the Government that it must tackle "excessive housing profiteering" before it is too late. In a statement yesterday Mr Geraghty said the Government approach "based on the conventional wisdom of the Bacon reports, which relied solely on increasing the housing supply, is incapable of making any serious impact on the current accommodation problem".

If steps were not taken to provide affordable homes for everyone it could fatally undermine social partnership. He called for the implementation of the Kenny report to curb land prices and said the Government should consider a referendum to amend the Constitution if it was necessary to stop land profiteering.