OPINION: Solving housing crisis must remain top priority for Government

LAST week preliminary results from Census 2022 showed there were an astonishing 166,000 vacant properties in the State on Census night last April.

In Offaly, out of a toal housing stock of 32,151, a whopping 2,663 properties were vacant.

These figures seem to contradict findings that currently there are just under 1,000 properties available to rent nation-wide and less than ten in Offaly.

Meanwhile, the latest Daft.ie Sales Report, released on Monday, showed that house prices in Offaly incraeased by 11 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, compared to the same period last year.

The average price of a home in the county is now €238,000, which is 97pc above its lowest point during the property collapse in the post Celtic Tiger era.

These startling statistics confirm that the country is in the grip of a major housing crisis which particularly affects those trying to get on the property ladder and those seeking rental accommodation,

As such introducing measures to encourage more landlords into the rental market and the construction of more houses by private contractors must be a priority for this Government and succeeding administrations.

But the curent Government must also up its game and intervene directly in the situation by building more social housing for those who will never be able to buy their own homes.

Ireland also needs a functioning housing market to attract and retain talent to our shores if the country is to maintain economic growth particularly in view of the major international threats to the global economy.

In its recent pre-Budge submission, Chartered Accountants Ireland, claimed the Government sees the private rental market as a source of taxes, and “this is not the correct approach in a housing crisis”.

Cróna Clohisey, Tax & Public Policy Lead, with that body said “landlords are an essential feature of a fully functioning residential property market, however in general, landlords consider it to be no longer economical for them to continue in the market.  In the Irish tax system, corporate landlords holding rental property have a more favourable tax treatment, at 25 pc, whereas individuals face rates of 52pc and beyond.

“The 25pc rate should be extended to individuals to address some of the inequity.  By removing disparities, the tax system could be effectively harnessed to encourage landlords to stay in the market and new entrants to meet the supply shortage,” the submission reommended.

The submission also proposes: Local property tax should be allowed as a deduction against rental income; Wear and tear rates for fixture and fittings should be increased from 12.5pc to 25pc per annum to facilitate landlords investing in the maintenance of properties; Where landlords retrofit a property to improve its energy rating, 100% capital allowances should be offered in the year of work.

To incentivise loss making landlords to remain in the market, rental losses in a tax year could be used against other income (such as employment income) to reduce tax payable, the submission states.

These suggestins deserve a fair hearing from Government as it considers further steps to tackle the housing and accommodation crisis.

Ireland's population is increasing at one of the fastest rates in the developed world and the 26 counties is now home to over 5.1 million people, the highest since the Great Famine of the 1840s.

The population, between net inward migration and natural increase, is growing by over 60,000 people per annum.

As a result there will be no abate in the demand for housing and rental accommodation in the foreseeable future.

As such the Government must firmly place the housing issue at the top of its agenda and take realistic measures which will have a real impact in the market.