Can new Housing Minister Simon Coveney pick up the pieces of Alan Kelly’s shortcomings?
Last November, former Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly pledged to build 200 council houses by year-end. Unfortunately, his goals did not reach anywhere near completion. In fact, according to the thejournal.ie, “Figures recently released by the Department of the Environment show that local authorities built just 75 social housing units during the whole of 2015 – the lowest on the official record, which dates back to 1970.”
These numbers are shocking, considering the dire housing circumstances seen around the country. If ever there was a year to fail, 2015 was not that year. Although private housing experienced a “small recovery” in 2015, “increasing by 16% from 10,501 in 2014 to 12,201 in 2015”, it is not nearly enough to combat the homelessness many Irish citizens are facing.
Alan Kelly, whose lack of action has been met with criticism, says he “wasn’t allowed to be as ambitious as he wanted to be in fixing the housing crisis because certain powers were not available to him.” Kelly also blamed factors such as objections from locals, “contradictory” actions from other politicians, the absence of power from Social Protection, and the lack of influence over NAMA. “I wanted to do way more,” he stated, regretfully.
Alan Kelly. Image via thejournal.ie.
Source: Dept of the Environment. Image via thejournal.ie.
Let’s hope Simon Coveney, recently-appointed for the new role of Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, will be able to make some tangible changes in the area. The new ministry is certainly a controversial one—with housing in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe—but its creation can be taken as a positive step towards improvement. However there is still a very long way to go.
The difficult journey ahead was highlighted by social justice campaigner Fr Peter McVerry in his interview with the Irish Independent. McVerry stressed an opinion that many Irish residents hold when he voiced criticism for the previous government, remarking that it did not have a grasp on the full magnitude of the current situation. He says Coveney must now “face up to a homeless and housing crisis, which is out of control. You have five new people becoming homeless in the Dublin area alone every day.”
During his first week as Minister, Coveney seems to be rallying the troops. On RTE’s Today with Sean O’Rourke, Coveney stated: “I’m not afraid of being radical, if that’s necessary. What’s happening at present is a national emergency. It needs an appropriate response.” He said there will be 18,000 new housing units built before 2018, and that the country needs to “build homes quickly, but we need to ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and that they’re not built in the wrong place, and [are built] to the right quality and standards.” There are a variety of other concerns addressed by the Minister, and they are summarised best here, by the Irish Times.
It’s been reported that the homeless crisis “is listed in the Programme for Government alongside Health as the biggest challenge facing the country.” Another hurdle facing Coveney in his position is “keeping tabs on NAMA”, who is scheduled to complete 20,000 residential units by 2020. The Programme for Government, published May 11, promises a concrete action plan on housing within the next 100 days. The Programme also says the new government will aim to “meet the target of building 25,000 new homes needed every year by 2020.” Also included in the document is a “help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers” and a decree that “the new court for mortgage arrears will hold its hearings in private if requested by the debtor.”
These new measures are definitely very welcome—but will it be too little too late? Where was this call to action last year, or the year before? Will Coveney be able to restore faith in the government?
Featured image via irishtimes.com
