Wexford chief exec admits council needs to ‘get our hands on more land and up our housing delivery in villages'
The first of these focused on the target set by the government's Housing For All plan which requires WCC to deliver 1150 social houses in the county between 2022-26. With the council expected to surpass that target by 30 per cent, the Sinn Féin representatives asked Mr Taaffe if that target was too low.
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RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Thousands of people line streets for Belfast Pride
Thousands of people have taken part in Belfast's annual Pride parade while thousands more lined the route as the march made its way through the city centre. The theme this year was 'Not Going Back' which organisers said reflected their belief that rights already achieved were coming under pressure. Stormont's four main executive parties, Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance and the UUP had been told that they were not welcome at the parade. That is because they voted to approve an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for under 18s in Northern Ireland last December. Stormont Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir who is a member of the Alliance Party took part in a personal capacity along with a church group. The parade started at Custom House Square at 1pm and made its way through the city centre before finishing at Victoria Street. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she was disappointed that executive parties had been asked not to attend. She posted about Pride on social media this morning saying she wished those attending well and that she was "committed to building a future where everyone in our LGBTQIA+ is seen, valued and treated equally". A number of organisations said they would not be attending the event in an official capacity. They include the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the PSNI.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
More than 400 households in Wicklow reimbursed for housing Ukrainian refugees
The ARP is a tax-free monthly financial contribution of €600 available to households who provide accommodation to a person or people who arrived in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive since March 2022. Figures released to Sinn Féin's spokesperson on migration, Matt Carthy TD, reveal that the number of properties nationwide in receipt of ARP rose from 4,245 in January 2023 to 21,803 by mid-July of this year, a rise of over 17,500. In Wicklow, the number has jumped from 154 to 463 over the same period. Deputy John Brady has raised concern at what he calls 'a significant and worrying increase in the number of private properties being brought into the ARP scheme. 'In Wicklow alone, we have seen ARP properties triple in the space of just 18 months. This is happening while thousands of families in the county are being priced out of the private rental market. This is particularly concerning when only 58 properties are currently available to rent in the county'. The Wicklow TD said that the government had failed to acknowledge the impact of the scheme on rental supply. 'We are in the middle of a housing emergency', he said. 'Instead of protecting tenants or investing in long-term housing solutions, the government has created a system where landlords can cash in on the ARP, avoid the rules of the private rental sector, and bypass tenant many protections'. The figures show that 21,803 properties are being paid under the scheme, provided by just 16,900 owners. Deputy Brady claimed landlords are taking advantage of a state-funded scheme with 'little oversight or long-term benefit to the housing system'. 'This is a direct consequence of the government's failure to plan and their refusal to engage in proper housing reform. Wicklow families are being left behind while landlords are benefitting' he added. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
‘It would be a waste': Little appetite in Sinn Féin for Mary Lou McDonald to run for president
There is little appetite among Sinn Féin for Mary Lou McDonald to run for president as party figures move closer to the idea of backing Catherine Connolly . Sinn Féin's Ard Chomhairle has not yet considered a report consulting the party's membership on its views, and the party will not make a formal decision until September. But a number of figures in the party neither believe nor support the idea that Ms McDonald would run. 'I don't want her in the Áras,' one said. 'It would be a waste.' 'I don't see a universe where she would run.' READ MORE A number of sources within Sinn Féin said they would favour keeping Ms McDonald in the Dáil to lead the party's ongoing bid to get into government. There is a view emerging that to have Ms McDonald run for president could be read as a concession that Sinn Féin was losing its ambition for the office of an taoiseach. Ms McDonald prompted speculation on her possible candidacy for the upcoming presidential election when she declined to rule herself out of the race earlier this month. It was a marked change in position for the leader of the Opposition, who had definitively said she would not be running for president in March. It is understood Ms McDonald's recent comments may have been a recognition of a desire for her to run among party supporters, who were recently consulted on their views. Sinn Féin remains nervous about presidential elections following a bruising run for its then MEP Liadh Ní Riada in the 2018 contest. Ms Ní Riada came fourth with a little more than 6 per cent of first-preference votes. Though Ms McDonald is recognised as a very strong candidate with a massive national profile, party figures are privately reluctant to put 'our best vote getter' up for what can be a bruising and unpredictable contest. There are anxieties within the party that anything less than an overwhelming win for Ms McDonald could feed a media narrative about a dip in Sinn Féin's electoral fortunes. Sinn Féin is generally relaxed about the question of its presidential candidacy and is content to wait until as late as September to make a decision. If Sinn Féin does not run its own candidate, it is likely to support the campaign of Independent TD Ms Connolly. [ Who is Catherine Connolly? The outspoken left-wing campaigner running for president Opens in new window ] Launching her campaign earlier this month, Ms Connolly said 'I think we're going to have united Ireland very soon' but it would not be 'immediate'. This was widely perceived within the party to have been for the benefit of Sinn Féin and an open effort on the part of Ms Connolly to court the party. Few Sinn Féin TDs could remember ever having heard Ms Connolly talk about reunification in her nearly ten years in the Dáil. The independent TD did support a recent Sinn Féin motion which proposed extending voting rights to Northern Ireland. Will Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin abstain from the presidential race? Listen | 40:42
