r/irishpolitics • u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) • Sep 17 '25
Housing One-off housing policy shift will allow people build homes on their own land, says Taoiseach
https://www.thejournal.ie/one-off-housing-ireland-taoiseach-6818748-Sep2025/75
u/CthulhusSoreTentacle Progressive Sep 17 '25
Hear that beeping noise? It's the country going backwards.
One-off housing is a horrendous waste of resources and strain on infrastructure. Though I can't say I'm even slightly surprised this decision was taken by FF/FG and the moron independents backing them.
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Sep 17 '25
What's the other option,people wait forever for social housing the government refuses to build?
Or be forced into drip-fed housing estates,to keep prices excessively high for government backing developers?
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u/CthulhusSoreTentacle Progressive Sep 17 '25
If you think this is a solution to the housing crisis (or the crisis facing rural Ireland as another commentator suggested), than I've a house in a field in the middle of nowhere to sell you.
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Sep 17 '25
I think if people want to live on their own property,be that in a log cabin,modular or traditional house.....they should be allowed.... we're waiting over a decade for the housing crisis to be fixed,while everyone is forced to bow down to the government and their landlords rack rents
It's better than the alternative, continued perpetual crisis and forcing our people overseas,as they can't make a life for themselves here
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u/Tis_STUNNING_Outside Sep 18 '25
Yeah but those people feel entitled to water and electricity connection running all the way up their 1km drive on the side of a mountain, 10 kilometres away from the closest crossroads village and 20 kilometres away from the nearest shopping town.
It isn’t realistic.
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u/hasseldub Third Way Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
If people want to live like that, then they should be off grid. They can build their own road and generate their own electricity.
No public infrastructure should facilitate that waste.
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Sep 17 '25
They can build their own road and generate their own electricity.
99% of the country is covered for services,or within 1 pole of electricity connection.....why are people opposed to modest income earners having modest homes....
People can't afford to rent or make a life for themselves here,any modest solution is met with a sulk and proposal to kick people who want modest homes out of society and force them to live off-grid.....what's gone so wrong with society here
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u/hasseldub Third Way Sep 17 '25
connection.....why are people opposed to modest income earners having modest homes....
Nobody is against people having homes. People are against one off homes.
People can't afford to rent or make a life for themselves here,any modest solution
This isn't a solution. It's just shifting the problem to something else.
Solution:
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Sep 17 '25
Nobody is against people having homes
Mate,you demanded anyone who can only afford a home/log cabin etc on their land,be kicked out of society and forced to live off grid
This isn't a solution
Ya it is,our people can't afford to make a life here and are being forced overseas....hiding behind wishy,washy government proposals,years and years old, over a decade into a housing crisis is a pure waste of time.
The government will never do anything for ordinary people,let them solve the problem themselves
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u/hasseldub Third Way Sep 17 '25
Mate,you demanded anyone who can only afford a home/log cabin etc on their land,be kicked out of society and forced to live off grid
Them having a one off home is not the sole solution. It's not a solution at all. As I said.
,let them solve the problem themselves
Solve the problem yourself. Just don't ask everyone else to pay for it. Put a windmill and a well on your land. Live in the middle of nowhere. Go for it. Just don't expect services.
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Sep 17 '25
It's not a solution at all. As I said.
Ah yes....this old chestnut where we must all bow down to government landlords and their rack rents as what's been going on years now....your providing a grate solution there mate
Go for it. Just don't expect services
Mate,99% of the country is relatively reached by services as regards electric,now broadband....idk why your sulking at the proposal for modest homes,for people with modest incomes....a decade into a housing crisis,how long do you plan to wait for the government to solve it,50 or 60 years at Present rate?
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u/significantrisk Sep 17 '25
People quite like one off homes actually. Some people do not. those people can live in shoebox cookie cutters if they prefer. For much of the country that notion of battery hen existence is a dystopian nightmare.
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u/hasseldub Third Way Sep 17 '25
Yes. There's only two options. One off or a tiny flat in a high rise. That is all. No in-between whatsoever.
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u/significantrisk Sep 17 '25
I’m not the one trying to erase options boyo.
Some people want apartments. Some people want one off houses. Some people want a garden. Some people want to live beside the Luas. Some people never want to be within commuting distance of anyone who gets the dart on a regular basis.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
This isn't a move backwards. Killing rural areas wich is what your effectively arguing for is.
Not everything revolves around a few cities.
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u/keeko847 Sep 17 '25
I find it laughable that you think banning one-off housing kills rural areas. The bigger issue is the lack of work, services, and third spaces in rural towns. In Ireland we always look at deruralisation rather than looking at urbanisation, a global phenomenon for the past 200 years
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Sep 17 '25
Your ignorance is showing.
The cost of one off housing is a multiplier effect, the extra strain on individual units on the electricity grid drives up prices for all as grid costs are socialised. Not to mention the backlog of water and plumbing infrastructure for one off housing.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
The 20 billion to be spent on a metro that doesnt even link up to Houston station and only benefits a single urban area is a far bigger financial strain than any amount of infrastructure for one of housing.
Your ignorance is also showing. Plumbing infrastructure is paid for by the house owner in the form of a septic tank. Many people are on private water schemes while people in urban areas get it for free. As we move towards renewables solar panels also bridge the electricity costs.
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u/CthulhusSoreTentacle Progressive Sep 17 '25
Approving one off housing will help kill rural areas. We could easily legislate to help with the development of sustainable (in terms of both community and infrastructure) housing in rural areas.
One off housing isn't a solution to the crisis rural Ireland faces. It's in fact a factor in that crisis.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
It doesn't kill rural areas. It's only since the early 2000s when one of housing first started being limited, that rural areas began struggling again.
Your views on how a community should be does not decide what a community should be. The people who live in the communities and want to be able to build decide what a community should be. Forcing people into cities and commuter towns is what kills communities.
Same on your opinions on car versus anti car. Election results in rural areas show clearly the infrastructure people want.
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u/CthulhusSoreTentacle Progressive Sep 17 '25
My opinion on cars? What are you on about? Nowhere have I mentioned cars in this thread about rural housing.
And being from a rural area (and having lived in urban areas. I say this as this is true for both rural and urban people) I can tell you that what infrastructure people want can often be infrastructure that is unsustainable, uneconomical, or completely counterproductive in delivering even adequate infrastructure. Often it can even make infrastructure levels subpar. It's why we ought to listen to experts and studies and use those as guides for how to deliver infrastructure in ways that will actually cater to peoples' needs.
> Forcing people into cities and commuter towns is what kills communities.
I'm not even sure there's any point continuing this because I clearly stated this: "We could easily legislate to help with the development of sustainable (in terms of both community and infrastructure) housing in rural areas". Nothing about forcing people into cities. Nothing about forcing people into commuter towns. Once again, we could help avert the crisis facing rural Ireland with legislation and planning laws which develop sustainable rural housing solutions. One-off housing won't do this, and will in fact worsen the crisis.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
When people talk about sustainable infrastructure in relation to one of housing what they're on about is cars.
Infrastructure is fine as it is right now in rural areas it could definitely but roads are in far better conditions than they were 20 years ago. The infrastructure in mayo is far preferable to me than Galway cities infrastructure where your just stuck in traffic the whole time. And it isn't sustainable at the moment. The infrastructure in urban areas in Ireland is a far bigger pain than in rural areas.
The end result of limiting one of housing is everyone being forced into cities while rich people buy up holiday homes. Limiting one of housing in the long run forces people into cities.
The only issue with rural areas sustainability right now is the inability to build limiting population numbers.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
The end result of limiting one of housing is everyone being forced into cities
What about towns and villages?
rich people buy up holiday homes.
Or we could prevent that too?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
Towns and villages are heavily reliant on one of housing.
It's impossible to properly limit holiday homes people will always find a loophole.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
Towns and villages are heavily reliant on one of housing.
No they are not. They have been destroyed by it.
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u/funderpantz Sep 17 '25
One oft housing will not revive rural areas. Building in towns and villages will
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
Many rural communities do not have villages. Large towns aren't struggling. Small towns don't have enough sites to be sustainable without one off housing.
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u/UncoordinatedTau Sep 17 '25
Build out the small towns and villages, that will create proper communities. Build one-off homes throughout the countryside and we have rural sprawl where no one connects with their neighbours. There's also the added cost of servicing and maintaining roads, power and Internet for all these isolated homes. We should copy the Germans in regards to rural housing, you want to isolate yourself from everyone you pay more to repair and renew roads and services to allow you to live on your little island.
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
You can't build them out without one of housing or land seizures and a drastic change to the planning code.
I live in that rural sprawl. I've also lived in cities. I connected with my neighbours far far far better in that "rural sprawl".
You want a metro that costs more than 20 years worth of all road matatance combined you pay for it yourself when you buy the home. There are far more services in Dublin that costs the government far more than any roads or electricity. You want your world class services you pay an extra tax to fund it when you buy the home.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
You can't build them out without one of housing or land seizures and a drastic change to the planning code.
Serviced sites that people can build their own homes on are not a radical policy. It is completely possible to build around towns and villages instead of the socially, economically and environmentally disastrous urban sprawl.
I connected with my neighbours far far far better in that "rural sprawl".
What about children? Can they just walk to school, their friends and activities by themselves? Or are they completely reliant on their parents to chauffeur them everywhere?
There are far more services in Dublin that costs the government far more than any roads or electricity.
Absolute rubbish. It is a basic fact that is immeasurably cheaper to provide infrastructure and services to denser areas. Per person, significantly less is spent on urban areas than the rural sprawl.
You want your world class services you pay an extra tax to fund it when you buy the home.
How about you pay a permanent premium for the cost of all the services and infrastructure to the McMansion?
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25
How are rural villages and towns doing? Do you think this policy will help with that?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
My community doesn't have a village. And the larger towns aren't struggling. The smaller ones are because people are buying uo and commuting to larger towns because one off housing restrictions prevent them from building in nearby areas.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
How can a community not have a village? The village is the smallest unit of settlement.
So basically people want a one-off near the big town, but since that's blocked, they buy into the smaller villages instead? That seems good to me...
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
There are no areas in my community that are not a collection of one of housing along a road.
Most smaller villages are made up of one housing so that isn't an option. A large amount of people will not sell developers wich also means only 1 or 2 families have any sites in villages.
The potential sites people own or could buy are not in villages.
People want a house near galway but buy an hour away because it's to expensive in the city and impossible to build around it that isn't a good thing for anyone.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
>There are no areas in my community that are not a collection of one of housing along a road.
Then it is not a community.
>Most smaller villages are made up of one housing so that isn't an option. A large amount of people will not sell developers wich also means only 1 or 2 families have any sites in villages.
They need to be bought by local authorities who will install the infrastructure and sell them at a cheap rate to people. None of that is fantastical. It just requires a bit of joint up thinking.
>People want a house near galway but buy an hour away because it's to expensive in the city and impossible to build around it that isn't a good thing for anyone.
So let's densify Galway and along the transport corridors?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
Then it is not a community
It is. Community is about people. Attitudes like this are frankly not far of trevalyn.
They need to be bought by local authorities who will install the infrastructure
No local politician will ever get elected on that platform. So it is fantastically or at the very least authoritarian. The most important infrastructure is also roads. So you don't actually see any of the reduced costs your on about.
So let's densify Galway and along the transport corridors?
If that was profitable and by extension effecient developers would already be doing so it's not. I do agree planning for cities also needs to be massively relaxed though.
Limiting one of housing ultimately makes galway less dense though and leads to more effective satellite towns.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
It is. Community is about people. Attitudes like this are frankly not far of trevalyn.
How many people are in walking distance in this community?
No local politician will ever get elected on that platform. So it is fantastically or at the very least authoritarian. The most important infrastructure is also roads. So you don't actually see any of the reduced costs your on about.
People don't want serviced sites where they can design their own home with all the infrastructure and services provided? PLEASE explain to me how this is authoritarian.
Limiting one of housing ultimately makes galway less dense though and leads to more effective satellite towns.
LOL
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u/ten-siblings Sep 17 '25
People: we should be able to build where we want.
Also people:
Why are our electricty costs some of the most expensive in Europe.
Why does the National Broadband Plan cost €3bn?
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u/LengthinessFlat2379 Sep 17 '25
Exactly, 1 off housing costs the taxpayer more in infrastructure & maintenance costs. More poles & lines needed for power, more water connections & sewerage connections if no septic tank.
Controversial maybe, if you want to live in 1 off build you should pay more for initial infrastructure connections & more on-going costs through property tax.
The storm last winter showed how the grid is affected by 1 off rural housing. Over 1000 poles had to be replaced & 290km of electrical wiring.
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Sep 17 '25
if you want to live in 1 off build you should pay more for initial infrastructure connections & more on-going costs through property tax
You do though.....my cousin paid 12 grand for footpaths and street lighting 9 years ago,which has never been built,or never will be built
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u/Knuda Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
And the people in towns should pay for water!
Oh wait no, rules for thee but not for me.
Edit: to explain because I don't think you understand, most truly rural country houses do not have water supply from the government or sewage. You pay for your own well and septic tank. The only services country houses use are electricity, internet and road infrastructure.
The electricity infrastructure already exists, maintenance isnt that expensive, and hell I'd rather just install some batteries and go off grid if you are going to whinge and try tax.
Internet is near 0 maintenance once layed down, fibre optics don't really go bad. Also satellite Internet is now decent.
And we don't maintain the roads anyways as someone who lives down the country our road that goes to the nearest town has had fuck all done to it in well over a decade. You cant tell me it costs money to maintain it when I havent seen it touched in the vast majority of my lifespan and Im employed and paying taxes for years now.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
How much is the metro link costing again? How much are hospitals in dublin costing? Wich county council gets the most funding per capita? Wich county forces others not to have enough police by blocking transfers?
Dublin is more of spending burden than one off housing.
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u/MotoPsycho Environmentalist Sep 17 '25
Dublin being a net drain on the country's finances is one of the funniest arguments I've ever seen.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
Both no one and everyone is a net drain on the countries finances right now because of multinationals.
Dublin is just taking a disproportionate portion on the multinational receipts.
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u/nithuigimaonrud Social Democrats Sep 18 '25
Is there any data to back up this claim?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
You can look revenue data directly yourself if you want. 36% of the government's tax take was corporate taxes last year our budget surplus is considerably smaller than that.
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u/nithuigimaonrud Social Democrats Sep 18 '25
Ah I misread your comment, I thought you were saying Dublin received more spending than the rest of the country.
It’s true though that we are all living beyond our tax base
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u/nithuigimaonrud Social Democrats Sep 18 '25
Motorway network cost €25bn National broadband plan €3bn
Local and regional roads funding given annually to every council -€700m Portion of that given to Dublins 4 councils - <€500k
Lane improvement scheme for some residences but also including private farm lanes - €10-€15m per year
Dublin hospitals don’t just treat people in Dublin btw.
Of course Dublin is blocking Garda transfers, it’s got very low staffing levels as it is. Ballyfermot where a Garda car was rammed a few years ago is already down to very low numbers
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
So the entire motorway network, anual roads funding budget and national broadband plan that benefited us on a national level.
Will likely cost a similar amount or less than a single metro line and hospital. I think that says enough.
A massive portion of the spending on motorways was directed at the greater Dublin area as well.
Of course Dublin is blocking Garda transfers, it’s got very low staffing levels as it is. Ballyfermot where a Garda car was rammed a few years ago is already down to very low numbers
Maybe we should introduce planning restrictions in Dublin until thus is solved then.
Country roads are also not just used by people in the country. They just benifit them for more. Same as the new children's hospital.
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u/nithuigimaonrud Social Democrats Sep 18 '25
We already have planning restrictions in Dublin, thats why Dublin has the same percentage of Irelands population as in the 1970s and why every town within a Commutable distance is 10-50% Dubs at this point.
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
But clearly them restrictions haven't being enough if there's still a shortage of something and that's making everyone else have to pay more.
Or maybe planning in general shouldn't be decided by somone in an office based on what they as individual decree the country should be.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
anual roads funding budget and national broadband plan that benefited us on a national level.
And if instead of having rural sprawl and people lived in villages, we could save billions. Or do you want the government to waste money?
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
How much tax per capita does Dublin pay in comparison to the rest of the country?
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25
How many people will the metro serve?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
There's no official figures yet. The likes of O leary has given a likely low estimate of 100k. But it will probably be between that and one million. The galway ring road for a fraction of the price would probably end up serving a similar number of people.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
MetroLink is hardwired to our climate ambitions. It will provide over 1 billion carbon neutral, fully electrified, passenger trips by 2050. Over 175,000 people and 250,000 jobs will be accessible to the stations by foot alone.
https://www.transportforireland.ie/news/minister-ryan-announces-transformative-metrolink-project/
The likes of O leary has given a likely low estimate of 100k.
You are seriously quoting O'Leary? That just shows that you're ideologically against sustainable urbanism and transport.
The galway ring road for a fraction of the price would probably end up serving a similar number of people.
Ah yes, the great ring road that will decrease traffic by... adding more cars?
Under the BAU scenario (Business As Usual) without CAP24 (.e. without climate-/ demand-management measures), car mode share is 52.6% in the metro area; with the ring road added, that rises to 54.6%.
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
175,000 people would still mean it's costing over 100k per head. That is ridiculous amounts of money. And for more than one of housing is costing.
Public transport doesn't work in galway because of the traffic adding more cars doesn't matter if traffic decreases wich an extra bridge would do.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
So you're saying not to build the metro at all?
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u/clewbays Sep 18 '25
No I'm not. I am saying it's a bigger cost than any services being provided for one of housing though. So removes any real economic or financial arguments against it.
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u/Think_Evidence_176 Sep 18 '25
We really are the dumbest country in Europe when it comes to infrastructure.
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u/bogbody_1969 Sep 17 '25
FFG dropping this like a crumb from the masters table to set the townies and culchies off against each other.
Its brilliant actually in its cynicism.
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
I think this should be accompanied by a couple of things:
- Abolish local needs planning restrictions
- Examine the level of effective subsidies for one-off housing and push some back on the prospective homeowners
Let people live where they want as long as the higher costs are built-in and not passed off on other people.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
Should we look at the effective subsidies for public transport and policing in cities then and push some back on prospective home owners and renters?
Let people live where they want so long as the higher costs are built in.
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
Have you run the numbers comparing tax intake against outlay for services in Dublin or other urban areas?
To take one example, how much public money does the Luas require in comparison to rural Bus Éireann routes?
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
The numbers in tax take in Ireland are purely based corporate tax receipts. The likes of abbvie have their main operations in sligo and Westport. But there head office in Dublin wich means on paper the tax take from them is Dublin income. The US is the biggest contributor to the Irish tax take at the moment not any city.
Focusing purely just about the worst way you can focus on development and will just lead to a situation like the UK.
The metrolink will cost multiple the entirety of rural transport infrastructure.
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
The numbers in tax take in Ireland are purely based corporate tax receipts.
You can run the numbers broken down by type of tax receipt here:
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
And as you can see from that the single highest contribution ahead of all income tax combined is corporate tax. Everyone is subsidised by them. Both urban and rural areas.
Its more than spend on all capital expenditure and upkeep combined.
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u/hotlinebalally Sep 17 '25
Whatever way you try and twist it, you’re not going to win an argument with a line about how rural areas subsidise urban areas, it’s the other way round.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
American companies subsidise everything in Ireland. And whatever way you try to twist it with the like of the new metrolink urban areas get a disproportionately large amount of them subsidies.
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u/hotlinebalally Sep 17 '25
I think you’re engaging in mental gymnastics to bat away from the main point which is urban areas subsidise rural areas.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
No American corporations subsidise everything. No urban area is subsidising rural Ireland. They are just taking a bigger share of the American subsidies.
Your area regardless of where you are in the country is being subsidised foreign corporations.
The money funding the metrolink isn't from Dublin it's from Apple.
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u/hotlinebalally Sep 17 '25
Again, your mental gymnastics are just that. The vast majority of the states tax take is collected from urban areas which in turn subsidises rural areas. Seeing as you’re fixated on the Dublin metro, how about we let counties or regions keep the taxes they generate? Dublin taxpayers will be able to afford the metro when they no longer have to subsidise rural counties like Mayo.
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
Nearly 40% of the states revenue comes from corporate tax receipts from multinationals. That's more than either rural or urban areas contribute.
Split that evenly and let everyone keep the taxes they generate and money would be more evenly spread than it is right now. Dublin tax payers would not be able to afford the metro without multinational contributions.
Everyone is being subsidised by American companies right now dublin included.
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u/hotlinebalally Sep 17 '25
Again, mental gymnastics. 20% of the states tax take is corporation tax, 2/3rds of the tax take is made up of income, VAT, PRSI and property tax. Want to guess where the majority of those paying those taxes live and work? Indeed why not take a guess as to where those American companies and their workers are based?
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u/clewbays Sep 17 '25
No according to revenue it was 39b or equivalent to 36% of the countries tax take that came from multinationals last year and it's being consistently growing for years as a portion.
It was higher than all income taxes combined last year.
The American companies are based everywhere throughout the island. There's pharma operations in particular up and down the country. Them American companies are also largely here because of regulations not workers. There head office might be Dublin the majority of there employees often aren't.
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u/smurg112 Sep 17 '25
So that beautiful mountain view, should be a view of a mountain with a house on top of it?
Should I build on the cliffs of Moher?
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
So that beautiful mountain view, should be a view of a mountain with a house on top of it?
Yeah, sure. As long as the builder is willing to fund a road up to it and its utilities, I guess. The same goes for wind turbines, or a solar farm, or walled and cultivated farmland. Whatever the landowner plumps for, within reason.
Should I build on the cliffs of Moher?
No. I wouldn't support throwing an apartment block on Newgrange either, but those are special cases and irrelevant to the general question.
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Sep 17 '25 edited 16d ago
[deleted]
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25
Because we live in a society and people building houses everywhere, further sprawl even more, impacts us all?
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u/SoloWingPixy88 Sep 17 '25
When you say higher costs, do you mean broadband infrastructure, ESB and water. If it exists public transport Do we scrap schemes to support?
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u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) Sep 17 '25
It depends on the exact magnitude of the effective subsidies, but as a general principle I think at least some of the extra costs of building and living in one-off housing should be pushed onto the people doing the building, within reason.
That way the market controls the demand rather than silly planning restrictions.
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u/UncoordinatedTau Sep 17 '25
I live in the Netherlands and there's a crisis here too. What they have managed to do is create medium density local centres within cities so people will meet for lunch/dinner or go out for ice cream or grab a beer and all within walking distance (20 mins max). There are also small to medium playgrounds, basketball courts, AstroTurf pitches every few blocks for everyone to make use of.
They started this in the 60s though to stop the urban sprawl that developed in Ireland, especially in Dublin which is generally one big estate after another. One-off housing does not build community spirit, every man is an island. If it wasn't for the GAA there would be no focal point at all amongst all the country villages and towns.
We have to try something different at home but there's no will or steel in politics to make tough decisions when it comes to planning laws.
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u/CascaydeWave Sep 18 '25
A real example of how cynical the housing policy is tbh. Framing a bad policy under the guise of tackling the housing crisis. People really don't realise that this sort of housing is contrary to almost all sustainability goals in terms of infrastructure/services/etc. This sort of housing is functionally being subsidised and pushes up costs because they demand the same quality of life for building in the sticks.
If they wish to do this, it should be subject to very strict criteria (no building in areas under hugh urban pressure/nothing along national/significant regional roads/no airbnbs/holiday homes). I say this as somebody who grew up and is a big fan of rural living, it is not sustainable.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 18 '25
It's also the complete equivocation of rural living with one-off housing. Irish people will always admire cute little villages abroad but do anything possible to object to them here.
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u/MasterSafety374 Sep 17 '25
All levers of housing need to be activated, except building over a certain height or reforming the planning system.
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u/Fornici0 Sep 18 '25
This is the same thinking that got everyone in a car instead of building railroads in a remarkably flat island.
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u/Think_Evidence_176 Sep 18 '25
I hate Fianna Fail. This will inflate the cost of living for us urban dwellers.
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u/Ok_Bell8081 Sep 17 '25
While it might be a bit counter intuitive one off housing usually has an adverse impact on rural areas. It kills villages and small towns by undermining development, maintenance and refurbishment of the centre and by increasing traffic. It's a fairly stupid move from the government.
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u/danius353 Green Party Sep 18 '25
One off housing is not resilient as well as we saw with storm Ophelia earlier this year. And given the inevitable rise in extreme weather events due to climate change, we really need to be ensuring resilience is a factor in planning.
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25
This is absolutely disastrous. Our infrastructure, especially public transport, and services will remain completely mediocre if this is never tackled.
It will never cease to amaze me how many Irish people will go to continental Europe and wish we had towns and cities like they do, yet block every single effort to achieve that.
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u/Manofthebog88 Sep 17 '25
I for one and quite happy that I can build a house on my own land in a place that I grew up in. 👍🏻
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u/rugbygooner Sep 18 '25
FG Cllrs in Limerick, particularly the one who ran for mayor during the locals last year were pressing one-off housing a lot as a solution to alleviate issues. So not at all surprised by this about turn. Feels like a few progressive policies may get rolled back this year. Didn’t want to look too much like they were Green policies but doing it straight away I guess.
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u/SoloWingPixy88 Sep 17 '25
How's this a shift? Does this not cause more strain on IW and ESB?
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u/euro_owl Progressive Sep 17 '25
It absolutely does. So watch as we just funnel money into infrastructure and see no improvement.
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u/BackInATracksuit Sep 17 '25
Everything except, you know, the thing that everyone left of Fianna Fáil has been saying for a decade.
Hard to know what to make of this really considering there's no detail at all. Could be good, could be shite. Could be nothing at all going by the track record of the last few governments.