General Election - Housing Manifestos

The number is never going to get to zero, no matter what measures are put in place. Sometimes, for example, you are just too drunk to find the hotel, no matter how hard you try. We’ve all been there.

Calm your tits and stop fucking and shrieking. No I don’t expect a minister to click his fingers, yes it is an issue that can’t be resolved immediately. I’ve posted above why I think the minister has been poor and a few suggestions for measures which I think should have been introduced. Maybe you should read them instead of shouting responses at things I didn’t say.

Finland has reduced it to zero.

There’s not one single person in the entire country of Finland who is sleeping rough?

That’s what the man from Finland said on morning Ireland this morning.

Would you be in favour of all Finland’s rules on social housing?

I can’t say I’m familiar with the detail of all of them. The broad thrust of their housing first policy which has been the driver of this improvement sounds sound to me.

Housing crisis: Seven solutions to Ireland’s biggest problem (via @IrishTimes) https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/housing-crisis-seven-solutions-to-ireland-s-biggest-problem-1.4146872

Clúid concentrates on new-builds. It completed more than 300 homes last year and is on target to exceed this in 2020. It builds both through traditional procurement – where Clúid is responsible for the design and tenders out the construction, or design and build, where the contractor takes responsibility for both design and construction.

Cormican says that the models used can deliver new builds for €245,000 or less. The organisation manages the tenancies, with tenants generally on differential rent, where payments depend on income.

A quick Google says they had 5,000 in 2018, so that’s some going to get it to 0. @Rocko, can we organise a login for @FinnishGuyOnTheRadio so he can come on here and back this stat up.

No drug or alcohol use or you are out. The Finns have linked homelessness to alcohol use/abuse. They put supports in place to help people get off it.

Zero tolerance for anti-social behavior.

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Funny, how you’ve presented that sounds the opposite of what the lad on the wireless said this morning.

Their “Housing first” policy means they provide housing for everyone, regardless of drug or alcohol abuse problems first. Everyone gets housed, the secondary issues are treated after. In most places people have to show they have stopped alcohol or drug abuse or made attempts to before they will get housing, the Fins have done the opposite to great effect.

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The Finnish chap in charge of the programme said the exact opposite this morning.

Blueshirts love a bit of zero tolerance.

Why do Fine Gael constantly try to distort the facts and tell lies when it comes to housing and homelessness?

All this talk of the number of rough sleepers is missing the point. The shelters/hostels that provide night to night accommodation are where the greater numbers are. Peter McVerry taking someone off the streets doesn’t make that person not homeless anymore. It would be an easy fix if that solved the problem. And if we’re discussing the Finland model, that was the problem they addressed structurally - the hostels, not the rough sleepers.

in terms of housing crisis, there are probably 2 separate issues to resolve, one being families displaced and on housing lists considered homeless and those genuinely homeless without the means to provide shelter for themselves. Hostels arent a long terms solution and even with them, as the recent controversy over Avalon house in Aungier street showed, that everyone wants the homeless to have shelter, except when its anywhere near them. All the protests by locals and businesses around there showed that. Like many things in Ireland, they want something set up or built or people and minorities housed, as long as it isnt beside them.

@glasagusban, you mentioned something previous about houses owned by the state. I dont have numbers to hand, but I recall reading a report that it takes up to two years to recycle a social housing unit returned back to the council. An awful lot of these when they do go back are in an awful state and it takes a decent whack of investment to bring them back up to standard again. Now the 2 years is far too long to do so. Most councils have a crew of builders on hand for this type of small renovation works where they are on agreed rates so it makes it easy enough to get in and get it completed. Most of the refurb works would only take a month to 3 months, so why it takes so long to recycle I dont know, and this to me is a major issue and a fault with Local Authorities and the way they administer their social housing stocks.

Huh? Are you one of the people who doesn’t like reading the detail?

Lets neber forget @binkybarnes said there was 50 around a five a side pitch. What an utter idiot.

On the topic of rough sleepers while there’ll always be a few, mainly due to mental health reason, the solution is to build small secure units and give them keys to them, not shelters. Even if they misuse them persist with it as the sleepers eventually get used to them, safety being key and that isn’t there in shelters. The cost balances out as the amount of time rough sleepers spend in hospitals or prisons is reduced, and its humane. Its a hard sell in buzzword ireland though as any attempt to build large scale smaller units is met with ‘not another ballymun’ in reality apartment buildings solve crises all over the world

That’s where we let our selves down — It’s a good thing that we have decent welfare — but we are too soft on the how and who abuses it.

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And people would be far quicker to support social housing in their estates if they new they were protected from anti social behaviour. But ireland is full of mindless drones who never provide such solutions but love shrieking insults at others to make themselves feel superior. Plenty on this forum.

Jesus the story that poster told about his peace of mind ruined by what was next door to him was heart breaking.

There are a load of major faults with management of stock. Two years to recycle a house sounds mad. You can see how it wouldn’t be turned around in a day though if say a family had lived there for forty years.

During the recession I heard of an episode in Limerick of a row of four houses in moyross identified to be demolished. Tenants couldn’t be moved out cause there was no where to move them to. Over a period of about three of four years the houses became vacant. One at the end first, it was demolished, and the three left standing and a new external wall built back up (you’ll know how expensive it is to demolish a house while protecting the one nextdoor and to build back up the external wall), then one at the other end, then the third demolished, same process for each, the last left standing another while before becoming vacant and demolished and the land where the row was eventually cleared and has probably finally been redeveloped by now.

That’s a mad waste of money and things like that do happen all the time.

One of the things that people need to realise Alos is that the state owning houses is a good thing. They are assets and have long term benefits not only for the people in them but for society more broadly, it’s not building free houses for people and handing over keys.

I can only make broad assumptions as to why, but the management of these council owned houses, from what I have experienced, both through building with a contractor and working on behalf of clients, is absolutely brutal. There is serious incompetence in terms of how to properly manage and tender and it is absolutely chaotic the way they work. Also the speed in which they do things too. There is none. They get paid one way or the other regardless of how effective or well they work. Which is why private development in some regards works well, they need things to happen quickly, get things moving and get things built. That too obviously has issues with it. There needs to be some middle ground, but if the state are to get more housing or improve the way they handle things, then their property departments need a massive shake up in terms of the way they operate. I’ve no issue in principle with state owning more houses or taking more responsibility, but I have a major issue with their current structures and ability to do same.

Anecdotal story, but a former colleague is now working as a building regs inspector type role with a county council for their housing developments. On the way to site with a colleague, the colleague told him to slow down, he is on council time now. He was told when he started that it would take him 6 months to get used to the pace of the way the council operates and that he needs to slow down. Actively being told not to work the way he did when with a private firm. That mentality just seems to be the way things are with regards their construction output. And that is why as it stands I wouldnt be wanting to put any increased construction work their way. I have dealt with 7 councils and they are all the same.

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