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The budget isn't the only important document setting out how the government spends its money. There's also the National Development Plan which is reviewed every few years and guides expenditure on stuff like infrastructure, public housing and other one-off capital spending
The 100 page document contains a lot of waffle. Some of it sounds pretty good like €2 billion for urban regeneration. However as is always the case with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael it always comes round to putting public money in some businessman's pocket.
Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that they're talking about the O'Devaney Gardens giveaway as a case study in best practice and an appropriate way to spend €100's of millions of YOUR money.
In case you've forgotten the O'Devaney Gardens giveaway was when former Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy gave away public land at a ~80% discount to some developer friends of his, Bartra Capital.
In return Bartra Capital promised to provide a few units as 'afforable' housing - 300k for a two bed flat. AKA public housing under FG. There were also to be a handful of social housing units and the rest privately developed for maximum profit.
This was despite alternative plans existing for the council to redevelop the land as fully sustainable public housing under the well established Vienna Model. The centre-left elements of the council were however bullied into accepting the Bartra deal by Fine Gael
Unsurprisingly since the O'Devaney deal made a couple of rich men even richer and torpedoed plans for truly viable public housing it's being held up as a case study in best practice by FG/FF.
THIS IS BAD NEWS!!
THIS IS BAD NEWS!!
Luckily the National Development Plan is up for review so you can give them some feedback on how you object to more Public land giveaways to private interests and instead want public housing on public land!
