Comment: Far-reaching proposals on housing crisis

All parties agree: relying on the private sector to fulfil social housing needs lies at the heart of the problem

Minister Alan Kelly and Minister Paudie Coffey pictured at Lord Edward Street in 2015, Limerick where they announced housing targets for each local authority area out to 2017. Pic: RollingNews.ie

The Dáil Committee on Housing and Homelessness has called on government to increase the stock of social housing by 50,000 units over the next five years. This would require a trebling of the numbers of units to be provided under current plans

Social Housing 2020, launched by the then minister Alan Kelly in 2014, committed to the provision of 35,000 social housing units over six years. However, at least a third would be ...