Ireland politics (Part 2)

[Rocko]

@tallback

@Cheasty

@tallback

Are they not two different things? As in there is plenty of options at the moment for the council to pursue the landlord? He’s clearly in breach of existing rules and should be pursued on that basis.

The second tweet is about a register but I thought there was already planning legislation/laws limiting the number of nights that a property could be used for short term rental.

I don’t know?

All I know is that people will see that story and get quite angry.

A few years back I listened to a Second Captains podcast abut housing with a guy called Aidan Regan and the general impression I got was that councils or whoever had a range of powers that they were entitled to use but didn’t use.

I’d guess that’s partly to do with ideology, partly to do with fear, and partly because all the yokes that are supposed to regulate housing are probably woefully understaffed and underfunded.

This Regan chap also believed that if things didn’t start changing for the better, people would turn to extremist politics. Partly he may have meant the populist left who shout solutions but don’t understand unintended consequences. But I think he mainly meant the far right.

I’m fairly sure the Mayors of Barcelona and Paris got elected on promises of banning or seriously curbing AirBnB.

There seems to be a blockage at a local goverment level that seems very difficult to get moving and stymies so many of these plans. I’ve no idea what it’s caused by. I’m not sure it’s central government to be honest and at a guess I’d say it’s less to do with ideology and more to do with inertia/not that fussed in getting extra shit done quickly.

Local government is too local.

I know we had a limp attempt at regional authorities with those Regional Assemblies but they’re too niche and just using the same councillors.

There are some excellent local councillors working around the country but they have limited powers compared to the council themselves and some are just local headcases who find themselves elected because there is a shortage of candidates. We had Green and SF councillors getting elected last time around who were just names on ballots (usually party staff) and had little interest in winning an election but got voted in anyway.

With that imbalance in power and then the number of local authorities, it’s difficult to get consistent approach across major issues like planning. The Regional Assemblies were hoped to do some of this but they just deal with EU funding I believe

Dublin should have a council sitting above all the local/town councils that is responsible for the implementation of planning in the city and county. They should have realistic but mandatory housing targets to deliver (through private and public programmes) and we need to move on from the chap in Dalkey voting on plans that affect his house prices and his neighbours’ house prices.

Same then with each of the provinces - the EU electoral regions are a good proxy for the sort of grouping we should use until we have a 32 county enviro republic.

There are some great people on my local council (even the Labour guy) but they spend hours debating a single cycle path (with a couple of oddballs arguing against the colour of everything) and ultimately the council have a strategic investment plan to deliver that same cycle path regardless of the debate.

That work shouldn’t go away but it’s not going to transform our housing policies, and nor are the executives or the councils who are just averse to change and beholden to An Bord Pleanala anyway. But the council decides whether a Velux window in an attic should be lowered or raised to match the streetscape should not be the same authority who decides whether we build blocks of apartments on a flood plain.

Ireland is too small to have a properly federal model you’d think. However we have many of the same problems larger countries have in trying to legislate for European, international, national, regional and local issues through one parliament. It’s too slow and too distracted. National government should set the plans and mandate the regional authorities to implement.

In short - regional authorities with clear planning and building mandates and reduce the number of local councillors by 50% to pay for adding these with far fewer members getting paid far more than the local councillors.

I haven’t given this much thought before now so unfortunately I’m not available for any questions on the above.

[TheUlteriorMotive]

SFFF are the most closely aligned in terms of policies. Be great to see them unite after a century of in fighting. They are the same party. Sure wasn’t Mary Lou originally in FF.

[Tim_Riggins]

I’m on record as saying property is a shit investment, full stop.

Air BnB would be great if you wanted to make some short term gains. The time and effort to do that would make it less appealing over time imo.

[Raylan]

@Rocko

We had Green and SF councillors getting elected last time around who were just names on ballots (usually party staff) and had little interest in winning an election but got voted in anyway.

We had that in the General Election

[Tim_Riggins]

Local government is built to protect “local interests”. In the US it can lead to some amazing areas as they can flex tax rates to improve schools etc. Here it is all about defending Eileen who has lived in the area since 1948 and is actually bothered to vote.

Local councils have proven themselves time and time again to be unable to “plan” effectively.

A broader discussion is required on what the point of many planners is. The reality is that the only planners you ever hear about in glowing terms historically are the ones who thrived under despots and could kick people out of slums (Haussman’s Paris) or who get the chance to recreate something with loads of capital after a catastrophic event (Chicago after the fire of 1870).

Planners these days mostly make their money on extension applications. The ones with real say don’t have the capital or power to get near what is intended. That is why you get a Ballymun in the 1960s with many of the facilities promised not being financed. Today though they simply won’t let you build without all those services which sounds deadly except it adds to constructions costs. It doesn’t make any sense unless we go full China and start trampling over people’s rights and cooking the books.

At a national level we can be thankful of the brief reign of Eoghan Murphy. He was dethroned because of his accent and vested interests. Most of the supply we see today is because of his zealous reform which attempted to simplify rules and to promote development where we have the best transport links while also attempting to neuter local politicians and their cap doffing to the property owning class. Ireland’s loss is Armenia, Uzbekistan et al’s gain.

[Ralphie]

Justice for Leo

[Tim_Riggins]

Good to see Varadkar push back on McVerry.

This government and the previous three have showered his charity with money in the last decade.

It didn’t get from A to B by accident. Government and Council funding has gone up nearly 10x in that time.

Since 2021 the charity have begun even more work, particularly in valuable sites around Townsend Street.

Someone in Fine Gael must have sussed that funding McVerry to the max whilst being on the receiving end of non stop abuse was not a politically smart thing to be doing. When people see McVerry’s name on a development they automatically think it is all his hard work collecting donations etc.

The PMVT is professionally run and having McVerry out there badgering in the media on the one hand but also negotiating with government agencies was a smart strategy while the likes of FG sat back and took it.

[Julio_Geordio]

He is doing what they won’t. If they may sort their shit out there’d be no need for him. He seems to be one of the few genuinely selfless people in politics/campaigning

[TheUlteriorMotive]

Lads wanted to kill the golden goose and throw Apple under a bus.

We knew.

[glasagusban]

What a bullshit post.

@Tim_Riggins

This government and the previous three have showered his charity with money in the last decade.

They’ve outsourced their responsibility to a charity.

[myboyblue]

That’ll learn McVerry

[TheUlteriorMotive]

It’s a shame to see him deal in mistruths.

We’re all working towards the same goal here. The massive population growth would put any housing stock under strain.

[binkybarnes]

@TheUlteriorMotive

We’re all working towards the same goal here. The massive population growth would put any housing stock under strain.

Mudderofjaysis

[TreatyStones]

@TheUlteriorMotive

We’re all working towards the same goal here. The massive population growth would put any housing stock under strain.

What were the figures in the tweet the other day?
A population increase of 1m? Over what time period?

[TheUlteriorMotive]

Population growth 2007 to now is 730k or so in ROI I think.

Mark Henry

[TreatyStones]

@TheUlteriorMotive

Population growth 2007 to now is 730k or so in ROI.

And you basically couldn’t build a housing estate from 2008 - 2014

[TheUlteriorMotive]

You couldn’t give them away then

[Little_Lord_Fauntleroy]

@Julio_Geordio 020420 “im sick of the bloated public sector”
@Julio_Geordio 050423 “double the size of the public sector”

[glasagusban]

@Tim_Riggins

At a national level we can be thankful of the brief reign of Eoghan Murphy.

This merits going back to. The country is awash with money for ten years. Successive FG governments and housing ministers refused to build houses for that time and the result is where we are today. The current crisis was predicted during Coveney’s time as minister, where we are now is entirely a result of FG policy.

[Ambrose_McNulty]

Awash with money for ten years and a national debt of 260 billion. This is why the civil service are clowns.