The Dáil is back in session, but the underlying issues have never truly gone away. However, Cork TD Mick Barry has managed to bring the cost of living crisis into sharp focus. His call for a budget that prioritizes the millions, not the millionaires, highlighted an interesting development – Cork Penny Dinners, a charity, now provides meals in schools and creches through “food libraries”.
The housing crisis, rising mortgage rates, and soaring prices were always going to be the dominant issues. Sinn Féin put forward their strong stance on all three.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald highlighted how many homeowners now face additional payments of €3,000 to €6,000 per year due to higher interest rates. Those whose mortgages were bought by vulture funds and left vulnerable had an even more difficult time, according to her.
As banks rake in profits of €5bn, who is stepping in to relieve the pressure on families, especially with the European Central Bank (ECB) implementing its 10th interest rate hike since July of last year?
With Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in New York, Simon Coveney took the opportunity to respond to why the government has yet to take action to help.
Coveney stated that the Finance and Social Protection ministers were exploring targeted measures, but McDonald remained highly skeptical, believing that the government had done nothing to alleviate the suffering of homeowners who were being exploited.
As tensions flared in Leinster House, those tasked with repairing our broken housing strategy painted an even more dire picture elsewhere.
Dublin Simon Community released its annual report, revealing that it was forced to reduce the number of people it could assist by 17% due to the severe housing shortage.
Catherine Kenny, the CEO of Simon, explained that their clients might be placed in privately rented housing, but they were now competing with 10 to 100 other people for any available unit.
Compared to other EU countries, the government is in a highly advantageous position with its surplus. However, the housing crisis in Ireland is on an entirely different level.
Both the Central Bank and the Fiscal Advisory Council have warned against exacerbating inflationary pressure in the budget.
Varadkar has acknowledged these warnings, but he is responsible for running “a society and not just an economy.”
However, if he succumbs to purely populist measures in the budget and tries to please everyone instead of focusing on those in urgent need, he risks damaging both society and the economy.
It is often said that money talks, but the lack of it brings great discontent. If the government gets this wrong, they haven’t seen the half of the complaints they will receive.
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