Business
Call on Government to release unfinished estates to deal with rental crisis
Independent senator Ronan Mullen has criticised the lack of suitable rental accommodation for families in County Galway.
Speaking in the Seanad, the Galway-based senator called for greater co-ordination by the Government to deal with the crisis in the rental market.
“There are some rooms for rent, or a small flat here and there, but increasingly fewer and fewer suitable family homes,” he said.
“During the week, I met a young mother in Athenry who burst into tears at her conundrum which is that she and her family have been given notice, and after trying many estate agents, they could not find suitable accommodation.
“These are people who are willing to pay good money for accommodation. As the family has a little dog, she is worried they might have a difficulty in getting accommodation. This may appear to be a small problem from a distance but upfront it is a real stress in people’s lives.
“The lady, if lucky to find accommodation, will certainly face a rent increase. She would not mind that if only she could get accommodation,” he said.
Senator Mullen welcomed the fact that work has started on finishing some of the fifty or so ‘ghost estates’ located in the county.
However, he called on the Minister to explore the possibility of making these unoccupied houses available as temporary rental accommodation.
“The owners of these ghost estates are either the banks or more commonly NAMA. I appreciate that ultimately NAMA and the banks want to sell these properties.
“However, in the short-term, we must seek ways to alleviate the crisis in the rental market. The Minister must explore the possibility of making these unoccupied houses, where they are finished and fit for use, available as temporary rental accommodation.
“The Government does not appear to have a coordinated approach to the phenomenon of fast-rising rents and lack of alternative accommodation which has resulted in families being caught in a trap.
“Of course, this is exacerbated by the fact that mortgages are now much more difficult to obtain,” he said.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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