
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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Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Sinn Féin calls for review of ARP as figures show rise in properties availing of scheme
Today at 11:55 Sinn Féin are calling for a full review of the Ukrainian Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) after figures show a 17pc increase in the number of properties receiving payment under the scheme this year. The ARP is a tax free payment that property owners receive for housing those fleeing the war in the Ukraine. Register for free to read this story Register and create a profile to get access to our free stories. You'll also unlock more free stories each week. Already registered? Log In


RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Sinn Féin call for review of Government refugee accommodation plans
Sinn Féin has called for a review of the Government's policy of paying people to allow Ukrainian refugees to use their spare rooms or properties, saying the scheme is unfair on other people, and is potentially disrupting the wider rental market. The party's Justice, Home Affairs and Migration spokesperson Matt Carthy called for the policy to be examined, before rejecting claims he and his party are using the issue to "dog whistle" to anti-immigrant groups. According to figures obtained by Sinn Féin, the number of properties receiving a payment under the Government accommodation recognition payment scheme rose by 17% between January and July of this year. This, a party statement said, is "deeply unfair" to other people who are renting as the supports are not means-tested, and are distorting the wider rental market. Asked about the claims by journalists today, Mr Carthy said the "evidence appears to be bearing out" the Sinn Féin concerns, but did not provide specific examples of how this is the case. He said the scheme is giving landlords "a tax free payment" of hundreds of euro a month to cover costs, as well as "top up payments", which he said are "unregulated". 'Wide open for landlords' While saying the initial objective of the policy, namely to help Ukrainians fleeing war, was "laudable", Mr Carthy said subsequent changes by Government have left the scheme "wide open for landlords" and others to use the scheme, saying that 21,000 properties owned by less than 17,000 people are the subject of payments. Mr Carthy said "now is the time to carry out a review", but said when asked if the call is a "dog whistle" to anti-immigrant groups: "This is about setting out very clearly that what is going on is fair." The Sinn Féin TD said his party "wouldn't want to see at the end of this a cliff edge where people housed under this scheme all of a sudden become homeless, no one's suggesting that". However, he added that "nothing" causes "social anxiety or division more than if people see one set of people being treated differently than another set in housing need".

The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Simon Harris wants to see emergency planning measures for Ipas centres phased out
TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said he wants to see emergency planning measures that were introduced for international protection accommodation 'phased out', if Ireland builds capacity for future emergencies. Harris said the multi-billion euro investment contained within today's revised National Development Plan will help provide the infrastructure to help ensure that Ireland is less reliant on an 'emergency response to migration' as seen over the past three years in Ireland. Central to those measures over that period has been the use of International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) centres, which have become the target of protest and violence by anti-migrant groups and other demonstrations. Speaking to reporters today, Harris said the government wants to 'get us to a point where we don't have an emergency response to migration, and therefore you wouldn't need an emergency planning response' as well. 'So I would like to see a position where the exemption to planning processes could be phased out,' the Fine Gael leader added. He added that he does not believe that migration accommodation 'should be treated any differently to accommodation more broadly', when it comes to planning exemptions. Advertisement Harris did not give a timeline for when he would like to see the end of such measures. He was responding to media questions about a motion brought in Kilkenny County Council looking for these planning exemptions to end. The State has faced significant legal challenges to certain developments, with one High Court action taken against a largescale facility in Athlone encountering problems after it emerged that the expedited development was unlawful. The number of applications by people seeking asylum in Ireland has almost halved compared to last year . The State has conceded to the court that the statutory instrument used to expedite the construction of the facility was 'invalid' and is working on repairing legislation. The government has come in for criticism from Sinn Féin over its use of properties for Ukrainian refugees, with Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Matt Carthy saying yesterday that payments made to house Ukrainian people has had a 'distorting' effect on the rental market. Touching on this, Harris said today that the government is looking to make decisions around how it utilises State land, 'so we don't have a reliance and over reliance on the private market'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal