
Letters: We got housing right in the mid-20th century, long before ideology took over
The construction sector speaks about our complex and snail-like planning system and the need to make profit on home construction; it denies land hoarding and mentions the shortage of skilled labour.
The provision of homes should never be the subject of politics or ideology. As a state, we got it right in the middle decades of the 20th century, right up to the early 1990s.
I do not recall, as a young clerical officer in a housing authority in the early 1970s, much ideology. The public housing programme was hugely successful. State loans were available to buy homes in 'private' estates.
Local authority tenants were offered an option to acquire the title to their homes after about 10 years.
Part V of the 2000 Planning and Development Act provided for the concept of a statutory 'social housing' quota in developments above a certain size.
The direct provision of public housing was largely shifted from housing authorities to this social housing quota.
Doubtless, too many units were built in the boom era. However, the planning system itself is causing huge delays and huge uncertainty among potential developers and those who lend to them.
Individuals have an unqualified right to object to any development in any part of this jurisdiction. Individuals have the right to appeal any decision by a planning authority.
An Bord Pleanála takes ages to determine appeals.
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And then, if parties are unhappy with the appeal outcome, the judicial review option is available. There was a time when the superior courts shied away from making calls on planning decisions.
The much-heralded 2024 Planning and Development Act will, I fear, do absolutely nothing to improve the provision of affordable new homes.
I'm wondering, as parents ourselves, do we even care if our own kids find a place to call home?
Why is this crisis being tolerated?
Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford
Pat Stacey may call it guff, but the GAA mythology got warring men to bond
Pat Stacey's weariness with the 'cod-mystical guff' in Hell for Leather ('Hell for Leather brings history of GAA to life but it's marred by bombastic nonsense', Irish Independent, June 10) is understandable, but mistaking myth-making for bombast is a curiously joyless take on a national story.
That soccer, not Gaelic football, dominated his Dublin childhood is noted with the weary pride of someone who believes personal nostalgia to be national history.
But the GAA never needed the approval of Dublin 8. It was too busy binding the country together with railways that carried teams, parishes that bred them and matches that made temporary peace between men still at war.
Yes, the docu-series leans into the lyrical, but Gaelic football has never been content to be just a game. It has been defiance in boots, identity in motion and occasionally, admittedly, a free-for-all with a referee.
Stacey might call that overstatement. Most of us would call it context.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Absence of 24/7 Air Corps service highlights how poorly we are governed
We are informed ('Tánaiste Simon Harris to seek cabinet approval to return Irish Air Corps to 24/7 service', Irish Independent, June 10) that Mr Harris wants the Air Corps to be available around the clock.
How could the Government allow a situation where the Irish Air Corps was unable to provide a 24/7 service? Another example of 'questionable' government action/lack of action.
Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork
State of the world has shown that we now need to go all in on our military
There is no greater symbol of how to serve the nation than to be a member of the Defence Forces.
In 2020, I questioned, in a letter published at the start of January of that year, the need for armed forces in this country. Now, with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the unstable situation created by Donald Trump, I believe we either go all in on spending with the Defence Forces or we leave our military to rot.
Liam Doran, Clondalkin, Dublin
Extraordinary that Fianna Fáil has had little input into recent presidencies
Senan Molony informs us Fianna Fáil may name its candidate for the presidency by the end of the month ('Fianna Fáil to choose 'definitive position' on Irish presidential election by the end of the month', Irish Independent, June 10).
It is hard to believe this is the first time this century that the party will field a runner when you think how it had dominated the office since the foundation of the State .
It is notable there will not be an agreed candidate for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It would be ironic if the two parties in government were the only ones to put forward credible candidates.
Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo
Greta Thunberg's action puts mealy mouths of the Western leaders to shame
Greta Thunberg and her colleagues offer a glimmer of hope and stand head and shoulders above the cowards of the Western world who speak out of both sides of their mouths.
Noel Mannion, Clonbur, Co Galway
Deafening silence from the new Pope as Gaza is bulldozed into the earth
The silence is frightening. The Pope seems to have disappeared. As for Irish Catholic leaders, not a word.
No flotilla to challenge genocide. No church-gate collections like Ukraine. And the Catholic Church wonders why the pews are empty and vocations declining.
Jesus was a Palestinian before and after colonial powers left an appalling vacuum in 1948.
Bishops and cardinals lecture us on scripture, but is it not time to get off their high horses and take action?
We all abhor what Hamas did, but 54,000 dead as a response? Try to justify that.
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Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Kerry councillors put millions in funding at risk as they vote against Áras Phádraig redevelopment
With significant funding from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), the redeveloped Áras Phádraig would have included a three-storey theatre, a six-storey HSE primary care centre, a public plaza and a revised entrance from Lewis Road. The site was purchased by Kerry County Council (KCC) from the Franciscan friars for €225,000 in December 2019. Interest was later sought from public bodies, to assist with its redevelopment, and the HSE was the only body to make an expression. Councillors have not been happy about the inclusion of the care centre in the proposed redevelopment, feeling it should be built on local HSE lands. They believe its creation would have led to the loss of 60 much-needed parking spaces and increased traffic congestion. Elected members were about to hear the KCC Chief Executive's Report, recommending that the redevelopment proceed despite more than 150 public submissions against it, when Killarney Mayor Martin Grady interjected. Mayor Grady told council officials that he wanted to make a proposal on behalf of all seven Killarney councillors. The Mayor proposed that KCC creates a new plan for Áras Phádraig that would include a new theatre and library facilities and also maintain the car park there. He proposed that the HSE primary care centre be built at the O'Connor Unit at the old St Finian's Hospital. In response, a council official told Mayor Grady that representatives were required to vote on the current redevelopment proposal under the Planning and Development Act. Councillors were told that if they did not vote, the redevelopment of Áras Phádraig would pass automatically. Killarney Municipal District manager, Angela McAllen, told elected members that there was risk with what they had proposed. Ms McAllen said substantial work had been done in an effort to get Áras Phádraig redeveloped. She said the redevelopment would represent a €47 million investment, ten times the council's investment of €4.4 million, and it would be worth €133 million to Killarney over 30 years. The manager said there is a risk that the URDF may not agree with the proposal. She also noted that there is no funding available for standalone theatres at the moment. Frank Hartnett, KCC director of roads & transportation, smart travel and public realm, said any change to the current proposal will more or less require a new application. And if the HSE is not on board, a new partner or stakeholder will be required to compliment the application. 'There is a significant risk that it would not be funded,' Mr Hartnett said. Independent councillor Niall 'Botty' O'Callaghan said that if elected members had the support of KCC management, they would be confident of keeping the URDF funding. Kerry Independent Alliance councillor John O'Donoghue said members had knowledge of what they could lose but are still going through with it. Cllr O'Donoghue said he hopes this gives an indication to how much thought had gone into their proposal. 'It's not something we are doing flippantly,' he said. 'We know very much what is involved.' Independent councillor Brendan Cronin said he accepted that KCC management are disappointed with the councillors' proposal, and acknowledged the 'huge amount' of work gone into the proposed redevelopment project. Cllr Cronin said the turning point for him was Killarney representatives' briefing with the HSE. He said a HSE representative was asked why the Áras Phádraig site was chosen for a primary care centre, and the health official replied that 'It was done before his time'. He said the HSE representative also outlined that the old St Finian's hospital site was being seen as a 'fallback position'. Labour councillor Marie Moloney said the public did not want the centre at Áras Phádraig. 'We came up with a proposal that we hope satisfies the URDF and the executive,' Cllr Moloney said. Fianna Fáil councillor Niall Kelleher suggested that the representatives' new proposal could be enhanced in order to secure funding with the help of KCC. 'We endeavour to work together with management to make this a reality,' he said. 'We really, not for one minute, take for granted the difficult position that this decision makes.' Independent councillor Maura Healy-Rae acknowledged the hard work of the council in preparing the proposal. She said, however, that councillors had to make a decision. Cllr Healy-Rae claimed 'misinformation' and 'inaccuracies' had circulated about the proposed redevelopment project. She said that it was clear from the meeting with the HSE official that the health service, which has landholdings around Killarney, was 'hedging their bets' by seeking to get a centre built as part of the Áras Phádraig redevelopment. 'We have taken a massive risk. We are hoping we will be able to maintain URDF funding,' the councillor said. MD manager Ms McAllen reassured councillors that she and her colleagues would do their best to keep the funding, and that they are committed to the redevelopment of Áras Phádraig. This was applauded by elected members, who officially put forward their joint proposal to the council. Councillors were then asked to make the required vote on the existing redevelopment proposal, inclusive of the HSE primary care centre. They were reminded that if they did not vote then the redevelopment project it would automatically get planning permission. All seven councillors voted against it. The councillors had voted earlier in the meeting to rescind the decision they made to approve planning permission for the redevelopment of Áras Phádraig in February.


Irish Independent
17 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Letters: Mass starvation, multiple child amputees, and still, US politicians stay silent
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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
The Indo Daily: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness?' - Washington tells Ireland to ‘sober up' over Occupied Territories Bill
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