Roadshow builds Simon’s FG leadership hopes, not homes

Bradley Bytes – A sort of poltical column by Dara Bradley

Housing Minister Simon Coveney brought his “Rebuilding Ireland Roadshow” to Galway last week.  Thank God for that, says you.

Because if there’s one thing Galway needs right now, it’s more houses, what with the homeless problems, which has reached crisis levels. And the ever-goring housing waiting lists – there are 15,000 people waiting for a home in the city.

And so who better to have visit during a housing crisis than the man responsible for solving the crisis.

Rebuilding Ireland is, apparently, the Government’s ‘action plan for housing and homelessness’. It was announced to much fanfare some time back.

During the latest visit, Minister Coveney reaffirmed his full commitment to Rebuilding Ireland, stating that he will “spare no effort in supporting local authorities, approved housing bodies and all stakeholders in doing what they do best in providing homes for many individuals and families whose housing needs remain unfulfilled”.

That was it. No new pledge of funding. No new major announcement of a commitment to provide more housing.

Just a ‘roadshow’, where the Minister breezes in, spews a bit of bullshit about how he’ll “spare no effort” and then he breezes off again, down to Cork or Limerick or Kilkenny or wherever else is unfortunately enough to deserve Coveney inflicted upon them.

Given that there was no announcement, and no pledge of more money, it is hard to come to the any other conclusion than that Coveney’s national roadshow had more to do with building up his reputation among the Fine Gael faithful nationwide, with a view to the soon-to-be party leadership vacancy, than it had to do with building social houses, or rebuilding Ireland.

This hunch was confirmed when the other rival for FG leader Enda Kenny’s job, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar, rolled into town soon after Coveney had left, and was photographed sucking oysters from their shells with Cllr Pádraig Conneely, and Deputy Hildegarde Naughton.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.