New Government of FF + FG + Regional Inds + Healy Raes

In my opinion,to solve the housing shortage,you need cheap money and longer mortgages

Why? Because if prices are too low,builders won’t build,they need a margin and plasterers need to be paid more

Government’s do not have the power to instruct the central bank on interest rates or on loan terms anymore,so ultimately the only answer is for mind sets to switch to renting not buying and to increasing the supply of that resource

Which unfortunately means higher apartment prices and asking mostly foreign investors to fund the building,because wait for it,to build them the plasterers will also need that pay rise

No one willing to work because the pay’s not high enough,means nothing built

What have the left done in the last 7 or 8 years? Demonised those investors as ‘vulture’ funds

Completely ignoring the inability of the government to fund workers to pay for the purchase of them instead

They’ve had to tighten rules on mortgages and bank stability since the infamous crash

I’m sorry if it sounds like a government spin but they are right,the only way to improve housing is supply

Opposition parties spouting otherwise are just opportunists looking for a seat who if they were in government would soon change their narrative

To varying degrees,it was ever thus

And a removal of the targets they were failing to meet.

Ah sure why would ya need targets, they only get in the way and are an annoyance.

I think FF are trying to be all men to all people, rigidly cutting spending, taking an extreme right wing stance on Ukraine and Zelenesky visiting Ireland, however in fairness to them they are also trying to spend on large infrastructure projects, which are badly needed to grow the economy.

Now they are positioning themselves on all sides of the spectrum but if it works fair play to them. I personally am a FG supporter, but would consider voting for Martin No. 1 in the next election, particularly, if Harris is around.

That's not to cause division amongst the many FF'ers who are sick and tired of him and those who aren't, but I would point out to them, despite the logjam and dour sentiment around right now, Martin has done more for peace, a disintegration of civil war politics (and he took a very very big risk doing that - he was very brave), he has done an awful lot for relations with Unionists up north without selling his soul, he has done a lot internationally. He has been very brave his entire career, took big risks with little hope of payoff for him personally and politically - that's what you should want in leaders and politics. It's what I'm looking for.

Just a heads up from one of your fiercest critics - he is capable of gaining a substantial across the aisle vote if he stays on and that's not to put the cat amongst the pigeons or divide FF supporters. What he has done is greatly appreciated from where I stand.

Grealish in the local Galway Advertiser the last couple of weeks on a couple of different things, ring road, housing etc and of course mentioning the Claregalway bypass. They articles are written as if he is on the opposition benches with no control over things and calling for the government to do more. He IS the government for fcuks sake. His suppose and that of the other indos is the only reason there is a government at the moment. If they are really that bothered by these local issues and the lack of movement on them, pull the plug, bring the government down. But no, it's easier take on those ministerial salaries and wait it out till eligible for ministerial pensions while their constituents continue to wait on decades long projects to come to fruition.

"He has put to one side civil war politics and sided with the party he has many differences with, however, did this to move the country forward out of fundamentalist opposition and oneupsmanship."

Both parties did this out of self preservation and to hang onto power. There was zero noble about it

Why I'm bothering to respond to a poster who thinks FF has stuck to "rigidly cutting spending" is a mystery so I'll stop at one post

Do you really believe Michael Martin, the leader of the founding Republican Party in this country, joined with FG and went against his own parties history for self preservation? If he wanted to preserve himself he would have joined with SinnFeinn. They are more aligned historically sand idelologically and it would have been the populist route and he would have had overwhelming popularity in this country. He didn’t do that and give in to his instincts to preserve himself and his party. He chose the path towards reconciliation and to move this country forward and out of civil war politics.

If I did say the piece on cutting spending and a quick review above tells me I did , here is why, Jack Chambers has a body established to look for ways to cut spending to accelerate infrastructure. It is easy to pick apart a post made in good faith to support a leader, I won’t get into the many ways people dislike Martin or thought he didn’t lead with skill and competence. I believe he is highly competent leader and I believe the environment was not right during his time in office.