Housing Policy

This Conference endorses the NERI Document Irelands Housing Emergency Time for a Game Changer. We particularly welcome the proposal within the document which proposes to establish The Housing Company of Ireland. We reject the Government emphasis on relying on the market to solve the Housing Emergency and we cite the following paragraph from the NERI document to emphasise our concern: (Government) Policy has placed the emphasis on public subsidies to private landlords and plans to leave the lead role to the private sector in building the houses when and where markets dictate (albeit in uenced by regulatory and planning restrictions) We also welcome the proposals within this document on A European Cost Rental Model which would distribute the cost of new homes over a long period of time and would socialise the costs of constructing and renting high quality accommodation. Unless this type of approach is now adapted  as outlined in the NERI document young  Irish workers will be condemned to another generation where they will be subject to the whims of property speculation which has had a disastrous consequence on workers in Ireland over the last period of the economic collapse in particular.