SF accused of ‘populist politics’ on LPT proposal

Labour TD Derek Nolan has said that housing must be seen as a basic right and should not return to a situation where it is controlled by market forces. He accused Sinn Féin of ‘populist politics’ after their proposal to cut the Local Property Tax LPT by 15% in County Galway – which would have hit local authority coffers by €2.25 million.

“There is no question that we are in the middle of a housing crisis – a private housing crisis, a rental crisis and a social housing crisis.

“We are still picking up the pieces of a housing crash and a weak policy that existed under the previous Government. It did not build any social housing and simply handed it over to the rental market. Unwinding that is proving very difficult.

“Social housing is interlinked with the private market. If people cannot buy a home, they have to rent, which increases rental rates. If people cannot afford rent, they need social housing, putting pressure on the social housing market.

“This all feeds into the lack of supply and causes a problem. A much more holistic and comprehensive approach is needed.

“Treating the housing market as a flexible market, where supply and demand is paramount, will always leave us with problems. If we hand over responsibility and say that housing is not a right but is something that we allow market forces dictate, we will repeat the problems we had in the boom. Developers and people with connections will control the housing market once again.

“Housing is something that everybody requires. There is not a citizen in this State who does not need a roof over their head, irrespective of whether that is provided by themselves from their own income, or through a helping hand from the State.

“We need to stop speculators controlling the price of land and ensure that everybody in this country will be able to afford a home. Until we make that decision as a society we will be chasing rather than leading a proper housing system.

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