Sir, – We spend in excess of €8 billion of public money each year on housing. The HSE has been allocated €23.5 billion for 2024 but had overrun its budget by more than €500 million in the first four months of the year. Taken together, health and housing account for about one-third of Government expenditure.
How are we doing?
Your lead story on Wednesday was headlined “Ireland ineffective and ‘reactive’ on housing” (News, May 22nd).
The Housing Commission has found that Ireland spends among the most in Europe on housing but has some of the worst outcomes.
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Few of us would be surprised to be told that the same is true of our public health system.
Surely it is now time to conclude that our chronic problems in health and housing will not be solved by throwing yet more money at them.
We need some accountability for the abject failure to manage the enormous resources which the hapless taxpayer provides year after year to these two critical areas of social provision.
What does the Department of Public Expenditure and (lest we forget) Reform actually do? – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.