Clare Independent Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne has described the proposed demolition of homes in Francis Street in Ennis as ‘an appalling indictment on any society given the demolitions are against a housing crisis backdrop and abject failure to get houses on stream over the past few years.’
According to Deputy Wynne figures show that over the past two years, the Department of Housing have underspent their annual budget.
“I find this incredulous and I fully intend to spotlight when the Dáil returns to business in the coming week. I find it is hard to accept that, in a housing crisis the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage had a capital underspend of €1 billion euro between 2020 and 2022 and already, in the first three months of 2023 they have underspent €205 million less than they have been allocated for this year,” the Deputy said.
She holds the view that this is ‘failure of gargantuan proportions and demonstrates either an extreme lack of interest, innovation, creative solutions, but most certainly urgency in ensuring that the necessary modular housing is built to ensure no person is homeless in the coming winter’.
“With the money’s allocated, we should have approximately 8,000 to 15,000 houses built every year. Alas, the government has consistently failed to hit their targets, fallen short in resourcing local authorities and, but for the Minister’s job being on the line this pot of gold would not have come to light.”
Whilst accepting that the lock-down, and the capacity work-load of the construction industry contributed, in part to this lack of spending, she nonetheless she is more focused on “the homeless, and soon to be without a home, those who have suffered the most from the governmental lethargy that appears to have crept in, and not on excuses. Had these funds been allocated, as they were intended it would have alleviated the suffering of the forgotten, the housing crisis and, perhaps even ended it.”
In speaking about the construction industry and the shortage of trades she noted the importance of creating a trades workforce but, “with the piecemeal pay grades apprentices are currently on, it is making it harder to justify anyone taking up a trade. It is indeed shocking to learn from her that, a first-year construction apprentice ‘earns the paltry sum of €246.00 per week, well below the minimum wage.”
Deputy Wynne added: “it is only after five years that an apprentice makes €19.96 per hour; and, if the government is serious about ensuring there are no homeless in this country, they need to ensure the allocated money is spent, and investment is put into those wishing to pursue trades.”
She was shocked to learn from a constituent that, because of understaffing at SOLAS; “he wasn’t able to get exam results in time, he lost work as he wasn’t sure whether, or not he was qualified.’ This, she says is simply unconscionable and she sincerely welcomes Minister Harris’ announcement that ‘the LCETB and TUS are to embark on a joint venture to create a degree in construction management which will not require CAO points. With this in mind Deputy Wynne hopes it can be ‘built on going forward and that a whole new stream of further education and higher education apprenticeship courses will materialise in the country in the future.”