The seeming perma-crisis of housing and the Government’s struggle to tackle the problem is once more front and centre of the political agenda.
On Monday, left-wing Opposition parties – Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit - announced plans for a major “Raise the Roof” housing protest outside Leinster House next month to coincide with the tabling of a joint motion on the housing crisis.
Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin said: “We want the largest number of people who are angry and frustrated in the first instance with the Government’s failures on housing … to come out, stand up to the Government and show your demand for something different.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy called for “a massive show of people power”, saying: “We need to declare a housing emergency.”
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It remains to be seen what bright ideas will be included in the Opposition’s motion – they will not be unveiling its contents until closer to the time – but it is clear they intend to ramp up pressure on the Government on housing both inside and outside Leinster House.
So what is the Government – which insists housing is its number one priority - doing about it all?
Minister for Housing James Browne has had something of a baptism of fire in his new role but he and his officials have been working on a range of housing activation measures due to be announced in the coming weeks.
The first is due to go before Cabinet today.
Developers would be able to seek extensions to planning permissions in cases where building work has been delayed by judicial review proceedings, under the plans for emergency legislation set to be considered by Ministers today.
The intention is for the legislation to be completed prior to the Dáil summer recess and there is a hope within Government that it could help to get thousands of units built.
The measure is a bid to activate developments such as large-scale apartment projects which might otherwise go beyond their permission timeline after being held up as a result of judicial reviews sought by opponents of the planned developments.
Another intervention is efforts to regulate AirBnB-style short-term lets amid a hope that potentially thousands of homes could be freed up for the long-term rental market.
As Jack Horgan-Jones reports today, there were other considerations in developing that policy too, as officials warned that failure to regulate short-term lettings could lead to protests against tourism, undermining the “Irish welcome” and damaging the attractiveness of Ireland as a destination.
Separately, there are ongoing deliberations over the future of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) – where two per cent caps on rent increases are aimed at protecting tenants from large hikes.
However, the system has fuelled concern that private investment in housing is being stifled and is impacting on supply.
The Opposition are poised to oppose any outcome of this review that in their view leads to rent increases.
At the weekend, Minister of State for Housing John Cummins said there are a “range of options” under consideration in relation to RPZs.
He told RTÉ: “We want to ensure that we have protections in place for renters while also increasing supply. I think we can find a balance between both.”
Finding this balance is likely to prove tricky.
Ultimately the Coalition has pledged to introduce a new “all of Government national housing plan” that will see construction capacity ramped up to build more than 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
Another story today by Niamh Towey shows how reaching that target will prove difficult.
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is due to tell the Oireachtas committee on housing that there will be no major uptick in housing supply this year or next year.
While the ESRI is currently forecasting just over 34,000 new homes will be built this year and 37,000 in 2026, “most of the risks weigh on the downside”, researcher Conor O’Toole will tell TDs and Senators.
The latest housing targets set by the Government aim for a total of 303,000 new homes to be built by 2030, starting with 41,000 homes this year and rising incrementally to 60,000 homes a year by 2030.
A total of 30,330 homes were built in 2024, a decrease from 33,000 in 2023, which the ESRI points to as a “notable weakness”.
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Playbook
The Cabinet is meeting this morning. Here is our tee-up story about what is set to be discussed by Ministers, including the drafting of legislation prohibiting the importation of goods from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Proceedings in the Dáil kick off with Leaders’ Questions at 2pm.
At 3.50pm Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is expected to make a public apology on behalf of the State to the family of Shane O’Farrell, who died after being knocked off his bicycle in Co Monaghan in 2011 by a man with multiple convictions.
From 6.10pm onwards the Dáil will debate a proposed Sinn Féin Bill to stop the sale of Israeli bonds through the Irish Central Bank.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris will take Parliamentary Questions at 8.10pm.
TDs will have an opportunity to raise “Topical Issues” at 9.46pm.
Government business in the Seanad includes statements on the Local Democracy Taskforce.
A range of Oireachtas committees will be electing their Leas-Chathaoirleach and meeting in private session.
The committee on foreign affairs will hear from Minister of State for international development and diaspora Neale Richmond at 3pm.
The Central Bank and ESRI will be before the committee on housing, also at 3pm.
The full schedule for the Dáil, Seanad and committees can be found here.
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