Politics

Sam McBride: Skilled manual labourers are the real stars of Notre Dame restoration. It's time we all gave tradespeople the credit they deserve

It’s a long way from the thick limestone walls of Notre Dame de Paris to the conurbations across this island yearning for housing — and yet what’s happening now on the banks of the Seine has lessons for solving Ireland’s housing crisis.

Woodworkers at Notre Dame carve out oak beams to be used in the reconstruction. Photo: Getty It’s a long way from the thick limestone walls of Notre Dame de Paris to the conurbations across this island yearning for housing — and yet what’s happening now on the banks of the Seine has lessons for solving Ireland’s housing crisis. Almost everyone agrees we need to build many more houses, and we need to improve the homes we have, especially through energy efficiency.

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