Great news!!! We're getting a "Housing Czar"

According to RTE, An Taoiseach will appoint a Housing Czar "immediately" 'Housing czar' to be appointed imminently - Taoiseach The Taoiseach has said that a "housing czar" will be appointed imminently to oversee housing policy. www.rte.

ie "We're setting up the strategic housing office within the Department of Housing and a person has been identified and obviously the minister will announce that very, very shortly. "That will again be the objective, of being on big sites and in big areas to unblock any sort of barriers or blockages getting in the way of developments coming through." The Fianna Fáil leader said that housing was a "top priority" for the Government.



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A couple of things spring immediately to mind. 1. We already have a "Housing Czar" in the form of James Browne TD, who is the MINISTER FOR ACTUAL BLOODY HOUSING.

2. An Office of Strategic Housing? Is this where we are in 2025? This state has had a housing crisis for a decade now, and its only getting worse. Why do we need an Office of Strategic Housing in the Ministry for Housing ? 3.

How precisely will this new Czar deal with blockages. Is he going to build water treatment plants and new roads? The biggest single problem facing housing development is the infrastructural deficit. But I'm sure he'll be able to land some extra electricity network from one of the lads down the GAA club or somesuch.

Tbh, this smacks of windowdressing and of another "jobs for the boys" debacle. I would, however, be absolutely delighted to be proved wrong. brabantje said: 1.

We already have a "Housing Czar" in the form of James Browne TD, who is the MINISTER FOR ACTUAL BLOODY HOUSING. 2. An Office of Strategic Housing? Is this where we are in 2025? This state has had a housing crisis for a decade now, and its only getting worse.

Why do we need an Office of Strategic Housing in the Ministry for Housing ? 3. How precisely will this new Czar deal with blockages. Is he going to build water treatment plants and new roads? The biggest single problem facing housing development is the infrastructural deficit.

But I'm sure he'll be able to land some extra electricity network from one of the lads down the GAA club or somesuch. Click to expand..

. will any of our journos ask these incredibly pertinent questions??? I remember when Owen Keegan was traffic Czar, we're all going around on bikes now..

.aren't we? They call that plausible deniability for the minister when it all goes tits up enuffisenuff said: They call that plausible deniability for the minister when it all goes tits up Click to expand..

. Can it go anymore tits up? brabantje said: According to RTE, An Taoiseach will appoint a Housing Czar "immediately" 'Housing czar' to be appointed imminently - Taoiseach The Taoiseach has said that a "housing czar" will be appointed imminently to oversee housing policy. www.

rte.ie A couple of things spring immediately to mind. 1.

We already have a "Housing Czar" in the form of James Browne TD, who is the MINISTER FOR ACTUAL BLOODY HOUSING. 2. An Office of Strategic Housing? Is this where we are in 2025? This state has had a housing crisis for a decade now, and its only getting worse.

Why do we need an Office of Strategic Housing in the Ministry for Housing ? 3. How precisely will this new Czar deal with blockages. Is he going to build water treatment plants and new roads? The biggest single problem facing housing development is the infrastructural deficit.

But I'm sure he'll be able to land some extra electricity network from one of the lads down the GAA club or somesuch. Tbh, this smacks of windowdressing and of another "jobs for the boys" debacle. I would, however, be absolutely delighted to be proved wrong.

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More like FFG disassociating themselves from the disaster they created. HSE part Deux. How to reduce prices by 1/3, Mr Czar.

Remove VAT on - solicitor conveyancing costs, planner, QS, architect, estate agents, materials. OK some can be reclaimed but that's not the point. The overall vat adds about 1/3 to the costs.

Which means joe blow (who can't reclaim VAT) is paying ~30% of his mortgage on past taxes. It seems crazy that the state takes this 1/3 in one hand, and pays out for social housing units with the other - now over 400,000/unit in dublin. It also seems crazy that joe blow in his 350,000 house (that he will own) is paying for other people to own social housing that is worth more than his gaffe.

McTell said: How to reduce prices by 1/3, Mr Czar. Remove VAT on - solicitor conveyancing costs, planner, QS, architect, estate agents, materials. OK some can be reclaimed but that's not the point.

The overall vat adds about 1/3 to the costs. Which means joe blow (who can't reclaim VAT) is paying ~30% of his mortgage on past taxes. It seems crazy that the state takes this 1/3 in one hand, and pays out for social housing units with the other - now over 400,000/unit in dublin.

It also seems crazy that joe blow in his 350,000 house (that he will own) is paying for other people to own social housing that is worth more than his gaffe. Click to expand..

. Yes the solution is always give tax breaks to the wealthy and punch down on the less wealthy Govt policy has been - for the last 30 years to push house pricing up. And now it's beyond reach for a lot of people.

But good forbid someone might get "a free gaff" (which wouldn't actually be free, as rent will be paid on it. ) And Darragh O'Brien explicitly ruled this out because the saving would not be passed to the buyer. Minister for Housing rules out VAT reduction for building of new homes Darragh O’Brien has not ruled out extending the Government’s shared equity scheme to buyers of second hand properties in the future www.

irishtimes.com Never ceases to amaze how people focus on the "free gaff" without realising that unless we get a hold of infrastructure, there will never be enough houses, free or otherwise. Nor do these people grasp that a well regulated public housing system would be a net contributor to the state coffers over time.

Of course, none of this is of any relevance to the fact that government seem to be creating another payola position that won't actually solve anything. Sidebar: VAT on new builds is 13.5%, or a third of a third.

VAT on services is 23% - also less than a third. If your paying 1/3 in VAT, you're being ripped off by someone..