Housing

The Central Bank of Ireland published a series of papers this week on the subject of mortgage arrears. One of these papers 'Long-term mortgage arrears: Analytical evidence for policy considerations' clearly shows that for many mortgage borrowers, the impact of the 2008 financial crash is still being felt. Government needs to invest in equity supports that benefit those who need them most, beginning with those in arrears of more than 10 years in Budget 2022.

In March 2021, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published the 2020 Social Housing Construction Statistics Report. Page 4 of this Report makes for interesting reading in that it sets out the 'Rebuilding Ireland Total Cumulative Social Housing Delivery'. Unsurprisingly, HAP accounts for the vast majority of the 124,749 solutions delivered between 2016 and 2020 (65 per cent). However, these figures are not just misleading, they're downright wrong, with more than one in four of these HAP tenancies either failing or double-counted due to renewal.

How we plan our finances, and what we choose to prioritise, post-Covid-19, will have profound implications for the future of our economy and society. To this end Social Justice Ireland proposed to the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight that the priorities for Budget 2022 should be adequate social welfare rates and poverty reduction, just taxation, housing for all and tackling unemployment. 

The Economic Recovery Plan announced today, while welcome, is not of the scale required to address the social, economic and environmental challenges that we now face. Covid-19 has brought extraordinary social and economic costs.  Alongside this, the challenges that existed pre-Covid remain and cannot be ignored

Social Justice Ireland has today submitted our 10 Point Plan to deliver Housing for All, as part of the Government's anticipated new housing strategy. Our proposals move away from housing as a commodity towards housing as a home, addressing deficits in homelessness prevention and supports; necessary increases in social housing provision; affordable housing; strengthening the private rented sector; and ensuring that housing developments are provide for sustainable communities. 

The General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020 continues to be debated by Government. Here we look at the provisions around shared equity and what they'll really mean for home buyers.

The latest Locked Out of the Market Report from the Simon Communities of Ireland shows that, contrary to expectation and an increase in supply, the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions did not lead to a significant increase in affordability in the private rental market in 2020.

The Central Bank issued its quarterly Residential Mortgage Arrears & Repossession Statistics report for Q3 2020. An analysis of this data indicates that, without tailored interventions, there are difficult times ahead for many households.

Eurostat data suggests that almost seven in ten people in Ireland are over-accommodated, that is, living in housing that is too large for their needs, while just 3.5 per cent of the population are living in overcrowded accommodation. This is ostensibly good news, however a closer analysis of the data shows the inequalities inherent in Ireland's housing system.