News

Rent Pressure Zones must be extended nationwide The proposed tax credit for renters in today’s budget will be gobbled up by landlords through rent increases, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson on Housing, said: “Without properly enforced nationwide rent controls, the tax credit for renters will simply […]

Government needs to urgently address underlying causes of crisis The Government has missed key targets in the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes due to its failure to address the underlying causes of the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson on Housing, said: […]

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is failing to meet any of the targets on delivering affordable homes while house prices and rents are at record highs A punitive 10% tax on vacancy and dereliction should be introduced and a levy imposed on investment funds, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan was commenting […]

Public confidence in planning system must be restored Further questions surrounding the workings of An Bord Pleanála require urgent answers from the Office of the Planning Regulator, the chair of the board and the Minister for Housing, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, the party’s spokesperson on Housing, said: “It is lamentable […]

Capital spending on housing down 21 percent on this time last year Confirmation from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that property prices have risen above their Celtic Tiger peak further highlights the scale of Ireland’s worsening housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, the party’s spokesperson on Housing, said: “The national […]

When it comes to housing, the Government is completely out of touch. The Government talks about ending homelessness by 2030, but they have no plan, no strategy and no milestones Record levels of homelessness further prove that the Government’s housing plan has failed, according to the Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Figures released by […]

The Farrell report must be published as quickly as possible It is neither tenable nor appropriate for An Bord Pleanála to investigate itself in relation to allegations that are in the public domain but not included the Farrell report, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “I am very concerned that the Housing Minister […]

It is clear that the Government’s housing plan is a failure, but it is renters and those hoping to buy a home who are bearing the cost The latest rent report from Daft.ie highlights yet again the Government’s failure to tackle the housing crisis as rents are driven to unprecedented highs, according to Social Justice Spokesperson […]

The latest homelessness figures are a shocking indictment of the Government’s failed housing policy The Government must urgently respond to near record-breaking levels of homelessness, according to the Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Homelessness is near an all-time high. This is a disaster for everyone living in emergency accommodation who does not have a place […]

The Minister for Housing has refused to act and has hidden behind the very limited review that he asked Remy Farrell to conduct The Minister for Housing must act on allegations regarding An Bord Pleanála, according to Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Over the last number of months, a whole series of allegations have […]

The ongoing failure to act demonstrates that the Government has learned nothing from the disastrous impact of construction defects Today the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, has published a report on building defects in apartments and duplexes. There are a series of urgent actions the Government must now take, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson […]

It now costs an average of €27,120 per year to rent a house in Dublin – this is utterly unacceptable and unsustainable The latest Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) Rent Index – revealing rents grew by over 9.2% in the last year – shows rents are completely out of control, says Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan […]

On every metric, the housing crisis is getting worse The latest Housing for All progress report shows only 16 of the 30 Housing for All actions promised for Q2 2022 were completed. Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan said: “The Government has failed to deliver almost half of its promised actions in the Housing for […]

The Minister must explain why he is going to guillotine this legislation with virtually no debate, no scrutiny and no oversight Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien must explain why he is ramming through planning amendments that will seriously limit the ability of the public to challenge decisions of An Bord Pleanála – in advance of reviews […]