News

The Government’s ‘beds in sheds’ plan going before Cabinet today is a recipe for exploitation and substandard accommodation, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “Hiding a generation in back gardens is not a solution to our housing crisis. There are so many flaws in this half-baked plan that it’s difficult […]

The increased prevalence of multi-person room share arrangements operating under licence agreements risks dragging the country back to the dark days of the tenements, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “The Journal reported today that one former office building in Dublin city centre has been converted into a residential property […]

It’s beyond belief that the Government is boasting about its housing achievements when new figures reveal it failed to provide a single affordable purchase home in our capital last year, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “Today’s figures from the Department of Housing are caked in spin to obscure the […]

The Government must clarify how its new derelict property tax will succeed where plans of a similar nature have crashed and burned, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne TD. Deputy Hearne said: “While this tax is needed, there is no guarantee that it will be introduced effectively by Government. If we look to […]

The Government is telling a generation of young people that their future is living in a shed in the back of a garden, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “The Government’s ‘beds in sheds’ policy is pockmarked with a litany of flaws. There is no mechanism to prevent these sheds […]

Today’s harrowing record-high homelessness figures are an indictment of a Government which has completely lost control of Ireland’s housing emergency, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “Today’s figures show there were a record 17,308 people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of February. Shockingly, 5,457 of them are […]

Social Democrats higher education spokesperson Jen Cummins has criticised the Government’s newly published National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026–2035, warning that it fails to address the core issue facing students and families which is the spiralling cost of accommodation. Deputy Cummins said: “The strategy places too much emphasis on increasing supply through the private sector, without […]

Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne will introduce a bill tomorrow (Wednesday, March 25) to give people a constitutional right to housing. Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “I am introducing my bill at a time when evictions and homelessness are at record levels. There is no mention of a right to housing […]

It is unconscionable that sick, elderly and disabled people in a retirement village in Sligo have been issued eviction notices, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “In November, the tenants of six of the houses in Sonas Retirement Village in Enniscrone were told by their landlord, Nasso BK Holdings Ltd, […]

Rental measures introduced by government on March 1st have led to record levels of eviction notices not seen since the famine, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne said: “In the months leading up to the government’s rental changes, which allow landlords to reset rents to market rate between tenancies, I repeatedly […]