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Friday 9 June 2023 Dublin: 13°C

# Housing

This week
4th June 2023 - 9th June 2023
# Island Living
Minister sets out 'positive discrimination' policy to ringfence offshore island funding
The ‘Our Living Islands’ strategy published today is the first national island policy in 27 years.
# home adaptations
Dept reviewing case of amputee told to wait until 2024 to apply for housing adaptation grant
The department says a recommendation on the housing adaptation grant funding has gone to the minister.
# Housing Crisis
Galway council to write to advertising watchdog over Airbnb posts in rent pressure zone
The city’s housing availability comes under significant pressure at this time of year, locals say.
Last week
28th May 2023 - 3rd June 2023
# dublin 3
Green light for 785-unit apartment scheme in Fairview despite local opposition
The Council has granted planning permission for the apartment scheme after reducing the number of units from 811 to 785.
# Housing Crisis
Department of Housing returned more than €380m to exchequer due to underspend by Govt
The Government has faced criticism in recent times for the consistent underspend of its budget.
Voices
Opinion: The government cannot fix housing because their entire approach is flawed
Cian O’Callaghan of the Social Democrats is putting forward a motion today calling for a reversal of some government housing policies.
# housing committee
Having a job is 'no longer a way out of homelessness', TDs told
Wayne Stanley said the issue is arising particularly where younger people are gaining employment despite living in emergency accommodation.
# Housing
Census 2022: New stats show how much average rents have risen in the private sector since 2016
The number of owner-occupier properties also fell last year, according to the Census.
# Housing
Leo Varadkar says he believes homeless figures will fall
There were 12,259 people in emergency accommodation last month.
# Income Tax
Peter McVerry says Varadkar has his 'priorities wrong' when it come to tax cuts
‘My priority, if you have €1.5 billion to give away, are the hundreds of thousands struggling to make ends meet,’ McVerry said.
# Homelessness
Housing minister defends Govt approach after last week's record high homeless figures
Figures published on Friday showed there were 12,259 people in emergency accommodation last month.
# Housing Crisis
Almost half of objections to Dublin City Council against new land-hoarding tax were successful
The tax is due to come into force next year and will target zoned, serviced residential development lands.
Last month
May 2023
# Housing
Homelessness hits record high again as 12,259 people in emergency accommodation in April
The figure includes 3,594 children.
# Planning Permission
Green light for nine-storey, 245-bedroom 'lean luxury' hotel over Arnotts in Dublin
Dublin City Council stated that the scheme is “unlikely to impact negatively on the amenities of properties in the vicinity”.
# Housing
Dublin Fire Brigade to tell TDs that fire safety will be 'integral' to use of rapid-build homes
Traditional building methods have undergone a vast amount of large-scale testing, an Oireachtas committee will hear today.
# Housing
O'Brien seeking to convert vacant office blocks into apartments to tackle housing crisis
The Housing Minister today confirmed that he was engaging with Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney on the matter.
THE MORNING LEAD
'Not going back to hostels': The Dublin tenants resisting eviction on Harrington Street
A report by
Jamie McCarron
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that the RTB would be investigating the matter.
# gaffs
House prices up 3.9% from last year, the lowest rate of increase in nearly two years
House prices outside Dublin are rising faster than prices in the capital.
# UK
Tory bill to abolish no-fault evictions in England to come before UK Parliament
The ban was part of the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto.
# Your Say
Poll: Do you know the Building Energy Rating (BER) of your home?
What’s your rating?
# Housing
Micheál Martin: It's 'possible' Ireland can build 40,000 new homes a year to meet demand
The Tánaiste says Ireland’s construction industry ‘could go even higher’.
Voices
Analysis: Government and the Central Bank can take steps to free the 60,000 mortgage prisoners
Mark Coan of Money Sherpa says more needs to be gone at the regulatory level to help those in insecure mortgage positions.
# Ernst and Young
Family homeless in eviction after receiver refused council's offer to pay top price for property
The housing department says councils can offer to pay the upper range valuation where tenants are at risk of homelessness.
# Mica redress
Defective Concrete Block scheme regulations should be ready 'in the next couple of weeks'
Minister Michael McGrath says he will engage further on the role banks and insurance companies should play.
# Housing
Irish Government ‘will move heaven and earth’ for older renters facing eviction, says minister
A new report finds a quarter of older renters expect to remain in rental sector for the rest of their lives.
# outdoor dining
No restaurant street furniture fees for another year as regulations extended
Government to remove fees charging restaurants €125 per table for street dining.
THE MORNING LEAD
FactCheck: Is the Govt correct to claim that 400 people are buying their first home every week?
A report by
Shane Raymond
Last week, a Government statement included a suggestion from the Taoiseach that 400 people in Ireland are buying their first home every week.
# pared back living
Is there a market for apartments for sale or rent with no kitchen or wardrobes? Govt told to find out
Government told to undertake market research on whether renters or buyers would be open to properties with pared back finishes.
# Housing
Construction cost review finds it costs less to build the same house in Birmingham as in Dublin
Taoiseach says we build to higher standards than some other countries.
# Housing
Modular housing being held up by site issues, warns state architect
A number of rapid-build homes are being constructed at sites across the country to house Ukrainian refugees.
# Housing
Maps published of areas where landowners will pay new tax from next year
The government’s aim is for the tax to incentivise landowners to use existing planning permissions for housing.
April
April 2023
# grants
Slight increase announced in Housing Adaptation Grants for older and disabled people
The 2023 funding allocation is expected to result in approximately 12,300 grants for older people and disabled people to make modifications to their homes.
# Ciarán Lynch
‘Disaster’ coming if housing isn’t fixed, head of 2008 crash inquiry warns
Ciarán Lynch has warned of a disaster ‘coming down the tracks if this problem isn’t fixed’.
# Homelessness
Homelessness record broken again as 11,988 people in emergency accommodation in March
There were 8,516 adults and 3,472 children in emergency accommodation last month.
There were 8,516 adults and 3,472 children in emergency accommodation last month.
The figures come as the Government's winter eviction ban lapsed on 1 April.
Focus Ireland has warned that the real impact of lifting the eviction ban is yet to be felt.
'We have no intention of leaving': Tathony House tenants facing eviction hold another rally
'Where will they go?': Coveney says invalid notices to quit should be challenged
# Mortgages
Start of 2023 ushers in mortgage slowdown as drawdowns slide by a third
10,908 new mortgages to the value of €2,868 million were drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of 2023.
THE MORNING LEAD
First batch of 200 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees to be ready next month
A report by
Christina Finn
A target of delivering 700 units has been missed by Government.
# new dwellings
Over 1,000 homes being bought by local authorities as part of tenant in situ scheme, Varadkar says
The government has set a target of 1,500 properties to be acquired under the tenant-in situ-scheme.
# Housing
Govt plan to boost building: Cost-rental units subsidised and development levies scrapped
A new plan includes an increase in grants for restoring empty homes and alleviating development levies.
Analysis: 'In a housing crisis, this government is leaving thousands of buildings to rot'
Taoiseach says we've yet to turn the corner on the housing crisis, rules out reopening budget
# Housing Crisis
Government considers subsidies for developers and scrapping of fees to increase housing supply
Junior minister Martin Heydon acknowledged today that there was a “huge crisis”.
# summer 2023
Govt summer priorities: Renters' rights, safe access zones, vaping rules and late-night pubs
A new pension system and a ban on conversion therapy are other issues to be addressed.