Irish Property Market chat II - *read mod note post #1 before posting*

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123424548#Comment_123424548

The one big HC report is a fiasco. The commission was stuffed full of vested interests and idealogues who came up with a BS estimate of 250k deficit in housing.

They over egged the omelette so much that government has no choice but to studiously ignore the deficit findings, which is exactly what they have done.

They cannot call it out for the rubbish it is because they commissioned the report that cost over €20m.

An absurd cost that nobody seems to have any issue with yet everybody is up in arms about a €430k salary.

The failure of the Housing Commission report is a good example of exactly why an office led by one individual tasked with implementing solutions is a better idea.

SpoonyMcSpoon

It is a bigger issue than just housing and the housing tsar fiasco is just another symptom of the bigger problem. There is a great YouTube video which essentially explains what the fundamental issue with the country is;

Why Ireland feels poor

In short; in 2015 the State spent €54bn; in 2023 it was €90bn. This money has gone mainly on turning the State into a giant administration monster between quangos, consultants, salaries for non-frontline admin workers - quite simply the "State" is too large and inefficient. It genuinely does need a DOGE type entity or a Bord Snip to come in and gut the quangos, instead focusing on getting the infrastructure and housing built.

tigger123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123423594#Comment_123423594

If/when any decisions made by the Housing Tsar are unpopular, the oppostion and the media will go after the Minsiter for Housing. So the Government will be accountable in any scenario, regardless of what the Tsar does or doesnt do. It will fall back to the Minister to answer in the Dail and to the media.

It smacks of 'let's look like we're doing something'.

The truth is that there's no political will to solve it. Whatever the Tsar will be asked to do, is nothing the Minister can't do. They just don't want to because any and all decisions are politically unpopular around housing.

Look at the objections made by Government and Opposition parties at a local level to any kind of development.

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123424841#Comment_123424841

There is no doubt opposition and media will attack the Minister. I was trying to be positive and give the Minister the benefit of the doubt that he may stand up to the attacks better if he has somebody he can pass the blame on to.

But if there is no point in being positive about anything, well then we might as well accept it will never be solved and stop blaming the government and point the blame at the electorate.

If you're alright Jack, no worries. If you're not, then tough luck.

Villa05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123425188#Comment_123425188

The electorate were sold a lie pre election of 40k completions, a lie little questioned by the media

The Hse was an attempt to de politicise the health service. Spending has sky rocketed with no matching progress in outcomes

The original article posted focused on the person in question using Airbnb to rent out a residential property in excess of 10k per week in a rpz. Surely not the person you would turn to to sort out supply and price/rental affordability hence my quote of putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Posters are getting blinded by bias and politics

The salary is a bargain if he can sort it out, scratch the surface and its more of the same

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123425317#Comment_123425317

A lot of the criticism of the choice of McDonagh (apart from salary) is that he has no experience of developing houses, just selling them off in NAMA.

The idea being the job would be better off given to somebody big in construction.

Same henhouse, bigger fox.

Blut2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123423594#Comment_123423594

A housing tsar appointed by the government, who serves at the government's pleasure, will not make any decisions that would be unpopular with the government. Or that go against the current government's overriding goal for housing - prices always go up, and vast amounts of public money are to be used to support the market.

All a very government aligned housing tsar will be is someone to achieve nothing for a year, then be blamed by the government and replaced as a distraction.

If they had announced an appointment of a very well qualified external candidate (ideally recruited from abroad), with no government connections/loyalties, and real, set out, powers then things would be different.