Sir, – Kathy Sheridan notes the level of “noise” in the housing debate and correctly states: “what we are missing are facts” (“Truth the first casualty in a housing crisis”, Opinion & Analysis, March 15th).
There is consensus that the core problem in both the first-time buyer and rental markets is a lack of supply. Until supply increases to a sufficient level, changes to regulations simply shift the pinch-point of the problem from one part of the market to another.
The facts on supply are that just 21,998 new dwellings were completed in the four-year period from 2011 to 2014, an average of 5,500 new homes per year.
For 2015 to 201818, the number increased to 49,281 units or 12,320 new homes per year. For the most recent four years, 2019 to 2022, the total number built was 91,888 units or 22,972 new homes per year. About 27,000 units will be completed in 2023, with a target of over 30,000 units in the coming years.
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These figures show that, notwithstanding the ongoing acute strains, considerable progress has already been made in ramping up supply. The challenge now is to build on this.
The data chimes with the argument by Fintan O’Toole that the austerity of the Troika period was overdone and continues to affect the housing market (“You have to be middle-aged before you can become middle-class in Ireland”, Opinion & Analysis, March 11th).
The austerity years saw banks stopping lending to developers; most development companies went bust, social house building ground to a halt and many construction workers emigrated. Key elements of the Irish housing market were dismantled and are still in the process of “healing” a decade later.
The response to the housing issue has not been the finest hour for our public sector, with an uncoordinated response that continues to lack sufficient urgency.
Barriers to more rapid supply include issues with planning legislation, the operation and staffing of An Bord Pleanála, a lack of housing projects on public-sector sites, delays in the courts, lack of proactive local authorities, issues with building regulations, too few construction apprentices and a lack of taxation incentives.
Different public-sector organisations give the impression of operating in silos with a lack of a central locus to bang heads together and drive a cross-Government approach. As Kathy Sheridan notes, there are obvious lessons from the strong, centrally driven response to the pandemic. – Yours, etc,
FINBAR McDONNELL,
Dublin 4.