Irish Examiner view: Hard to envisage a large-scale solution to Ireland's housing crisis
Decision An 1,300 One Aspect Pleanála A In Cork's Docklands This For Indefinitely Are Now Bord On Illustrates Plans Apartments Housing In Ireland By Of Week Challenge The Hold
The accommodation crisis in the country remains one of the signature challenges facing Ireland, and it’s a live topic on thousands of doorsteps.
That is the literal truth, with canvassers encountering multiple generations of families living under one roof out of sheer necessity: The lack of viable alternatives mean many houses are now home to grandparents, parents, and children.
The shortage of housing means there are knock-on impacts everywhere in Irish life. The lack of accommodation means longer commutes to work, traffic problems, and higher carbon emissions. The effects do not get better the further one goes down the list, and election candidates are no doubt hearing that as they do their rounds.
A decision this week by An Bord Pleanála illustrates this problem perfectly. There was a good deal of fanfare when plans for 1,300 apartments in the docklands sector of Cork City were announced, but those plans are now on hold indefinitely. They were contingent on Goulding Chemicals moving its operation from the Marina to a location further down Cork Harbour, freeing up the space it now occupies for those apartments.
With An Bord Pleanála overturning Cork City Council’s planning permission for the new operation, it means Goulding remains in situ and there is no room for the new development. The temptation is to point to this as a blow for Cork’s development, in particular the wish to orient the city down the river and to develop the docklands area, and it is.
However, it also underlines the difficulties involved in building homes on a large scale to address the housing crisis.
The news illustrates the sheer size of the challenge posed by housing, but it may also underline something else — the significance of housing as the main issue of the election.
In the recent presidential campaign in America, we saw how Donald Trump’s success owed a good deal to the perception that incumbent Joe Biden had overseen a catastrophic rise in the cost of living. However, although the catastrophe in Irish housing and accommodation is a matter of fact rather than perception, Irish voters are unlikely to be swayed by sweeping promises on housing delivery by any party.
Painful experience has taught the electorate to be sceptical of such guarantees, no matter who makes them.
The statistics from a new study on violence against women made for grim reading this week.
Almost one Irish woman in five has experienced physical violence or the threat of physical violence in their lifetime, according to a new study.
That is the sixth-highest proportion across the EU, according to the study carried out by the EU gender-based violence survey published to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Those statistics have particular relevance in the wake of MMA fighter Conor McGregor being found civilly liable last week for assaulting Nikita Hand in 2018 in a Dublin hotel. That case has already had an impact on the reporting of sexual violence: The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) stated this week that the number of first-time callers to its helpline increased by 50% over the weekend following Ms Hand’s High Court victory, and in the six hours after the verdict was delivered on Friday afternoon, the overall number of calls to the DRCC increased by 150%.
It is encouraging to see that 200 people marched through Dublin on Monday night in a show of support for Ms Hand, who watched online and sent messages of support through social media. Another welcome development was the GAA’s launch of its Game Changer project to tackle domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence, as reported here earlier in the week.
However, the results of the study mentioned above indicate just how widespread this problem is.
There have been plenty of headlines in the last few days about companies such as Musgraves, which decided to cut ties with Conor McGregor in the wake of last week’s court case. As of now, the impact of such decisions seems confined to Mr McGregor’s pocket, but what if those companies took a specific course of action?
It would be fitting if they diverted funds which had been earmarked for Mr McGregor, or income expected from partnerships with him, towards organisations such as the DRCC and similar operations around the country.
The yacht Sea Story was carrying 31 tourists of various nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave early yesterday, leading it to capsize near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt.
The yacht was hit just after 5am and capsized in minutes — with many passengers in their cabins at that time, it is understood that some did not make it to safety.
At least one of those on board was an Irish citizen, but fears were allayed yesterday when the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was “in direct contact with the citizen concerned and is providing consular assistance”.
While it is good to hear the Irish person aboard is safe, several of those on board are missing, presumed drowned. Many readers will be familiar with the prospect of a boat trip while on a foreign holiday, which brings the horror of this incident home with even greater force. The last thing one expects on a relaxing break is to find oneself in mortal danger.