18 hours Ago
For Albert Einstein, politics was a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny were fuelled by “perennially rejuvenated illusions”. If he was correct, this is the time to look at those illusions and dare to hope for something more substantial in the year to come. Forming a functioning government would be a good start.
The fragmented nature of the vote, along with the low turnout, suggests people are less engaged and less fixed in their affiliations. It is the former that is of more concern. Dissatisfaction and disappointment are understandable when set against some of the bold claims about housing and health.
We have perhaps been too passive in accepting missed targets and poor delivery rates. The answer is not to disengage from the political process; rather, it is to hold to account those who are not performing. The world does not make promises, but political parties often do, and when they fail to fulfil them, the ballot box is your means of registering your protest.
Failure becomes inevitable once poor performance becomes institutionalised. A vital energetic democracy demands engagement from voters who are prepared to support progressive politics and call out the cynical and the self-interested. Resignation breeds resentment and alienation.
On the face of things, we are in a strong place. We have reached record employment levels, with 2.7 million in the workforce.
Yet we are losing a generation who cannot afford to rent and believe they will never be able to buy a home. Political parties must let go of the pretence that they have a single magic-bullet solution to our housing crisis. It needs to be addressed as a national priority with the same level of buy-in and application achieved during the Covid pandemic.
The issue once again registered as the chief concern for voters in the election. The crippling cost of housing is unsustainable. The price of the average Irish home is said to be still rising between €3,000 and €4,500 a month.
Figures from the CSO put the annual rate of inflation on housing close to 10pc. Paying out huge sums to landlords in HAP payments instead of developing our core housing infrastructure is subsidising high rents through the use of taxpayer money. Until such dysfunction is addressed, rents will continue to be beyond many.
As for supply, the number of homes built is unlikely to exceed the 33,000 last year. The outgoing Coalition had forecast the number would approach 40,000 this year, but that seems unrealistic. A cross-government unified national campaign to deliver housing must dominate cabinet thinking.
The Government’s own Housing Commission has appealed for greater urgency. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey says: “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” In terms of the property ladder, we have been stuck in the wrong place for far too long.
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