Only public sector rental can reduce rents to affordable levels
In an initial response today (Friday June 17th) to the publication of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness report, Workers’ Party Councillor Éilís Ryan said that the report ‘lacked ambition’ and expressed disappointment at the Committee’s failure to recommend an increased role for the State as the main driver of social housing. Cllr Ryan also criticised the absence of measures to reduce rents which, she said, will continue to increase with inflation despite already being grossly disproportionate to income.
The Workers’ Party submission to the Committee, based on the party’s Solidarity Housing proposals, recommended a cross-subsidised model of social housing. By offering near-universal access to public housing, at income-indexed rents, the state would be able to accumulate surplus revenue for reinvestment in housing or in maintenance work.
Commenting, Cllr Ryan said:
“While the Workers’ Party welcomed the establishment of this Committee and its remit to report swiftly in the face of what is now a national emergency, the recommendations published today lack ambition. The social housing targets are very limited, at a paltry 15,000 units above the Programme for Government commitment, and crucially the report does not recommend suspending council housing sell offs. Without a suspension of sell-offs, waiting lists will continue growing notwithstanding the proposed modest increase in targets.
“Fundamentally, however, the problem is that this report still views housing as market-led. The Workers’ Party is extremely disappointed that the Committee did not recommend an expansion of public rental, as advocated in our submission and the underlying Solidarity Housing proposals.
“While we welcome the recommendation relating to cost rental, it is not clear whether the proposed scheme would be operated through the public or the private sector – and the reference to the Housing Land Initiative as an example of cost rental, which is operated through the private sector and involves subsidies to landlords, is worrying.
“Without proper rent controls coupled with a significant expansion in public housing supply, the rental crisis will continue, housing waiting lists will grow – and landlords will continue to pocket the profits.
“The Workers’ Party will be publishing a detailed response to the report in the coming days”, Cllr Ryan said.