Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
IF YOU READ the Programme for Government agreed between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens back in 2020, you’ll see many loosely-worded commitments and pledges to review areas such as public transport, healthcare, policing and the environment.
In fact, the word ‘review’ appears more than 130 times in the 128-page document.
A Programme for Government is a blueprint – setting out to the public the goals of an incoming administration.
Promises to ‘prioritise’, ‘ensure’ and ‘progress’ appear regularly. These pledges have vague goals and are, often, difficult to quantify.
We took a look at the coalition’s performance across a number of key areas over the last Dáil term and compared it to the goals set out in the 2020 Programme for Government.
1. Public Transport
Pledge: “Develop and implement a Sustainable Rural Mobility Plan.”
The National Transport Authority (NTA) developed and implemented the Sustainable Rural Mobility Plan. A blueprint of the scheme was completed by 2021.
It committed to delivering public transport to 70% of those living outside of cities and began after a public engagement phase in 2022.
As of the second quarter of this year, over 120 new local connections – using Local Link bus services primarily – have been introduced, according to the NTA.
25 services were introduced in rural and remote areas this year alone. The plan is on track to be fully implemented by 2025 and has completed almost 5 million journeys.
Advertisement
Over 120 new local connections were established, mostly through Local link services. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Pledge: “Ensure a national integrated public transport system with an integrated timetable, one tag-on ticketing system and coordination between bus and rail timetables of all operators.”
The NTA published a five-year plan in 2019. It commits to having the necessary infrastructure and services in place so that people can, in practice, catch a bus to a train station and vice versa.
There is no mention of an integrated timetable in the document. This would make sure that arrival times match up with departing times between services.
While passengers can get the bus to the train station, the government did not redraft the existing plan or commit, in writing, to making sure that a train would be at the platform when commuters get off the bus.
2. Housing
Pledge: “Increase the social housing stock by more than 50,000, with an emphasis on new builds.”
It was a major goal of the outgoing government to increase social housing supply by 50,000 more homes. As of the second quarter of this year, 44,953 social homes have been delivered since the beginning of 2020.
The Commission said there is a significant shortage of social housing and that it should represent at least 20% of the total housing stock nationwide.
While figures are slowly growing, the Housing Commission also outlined that there is still a housing deficit of roughly 250,000.
The Government is expected to meet its social housing target of 50,000 homes - but an expert report this year said there needs to be a lot more. Alamy
Alamy
Pledge: “Improve the supply and affordability of rental accommodation and the security of tenure for renters.”
Analysis: How has this government performed on the major issues during its time in power?
The report found that the cost of an average rent is up 43% compared to pre-Covid times – before the existence of the outgoing coalition. The average rent is €1,955 per month as of the third quarter.
Author of the report Ronan Lyons, an economist at Trinity College Dublin, said supply was largely driving the price surges, adding that the pipeline of homes around the country is beginning to dry up.
3. Climate
Pledge: “Prioritise the development of microgeneration, letting people sell excess power back to the grid by June 2021.”
Microgeneration is the generation of electricity from renewable sources, such as solar panels, by households and small businesses.
Under a programme called the Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS), people whose homes or businesses produce more energy than they need are able to sell it back to their electricity suppliers.
While most of these issues have been resolved, Electric Ireland recently cut rates for people availing of the scheme and the industry has called for expansion in recent days.
The Government failed to deliver an effective Microgeneration Support Scheme by the deadline. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Pledge: “Developing major drive to realise the immense potential of Ireland’s offshore renewables.”
The government did publish a major offshore ‘future framework’ document earlier this year.
It set out big targets: 5GW (gigawatts) of offshore wind installed by 2030, rising sharply to 20GW by 2040 and then 37GW by 2050.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
27 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Why do FG and FF have no immigration policy on their websites? They’ve had no plans for immigration over the past 5 years either. Have their plans improved childcare, housing, and cost of living over the past five years for you? We can change this government.
@F1rYnpWc: After the election loss for SF they will stop paying you and we won’t have to laugh at your propaganda anymore. You will disappear just like Kamala’s PR team also disappeared. Great times ahead.
This government has been all soundbites while things get worse in all the major departments such as housing, health, justice, education, it may have improved the economy, but definitely not to everyone’s benefit
@Nigel Hayden: it is simply a question of whether FG made the situation better than what it was 5 years ago better for costs of living, bills, housing, childcare, rents, petrol prices, healthcare, immigration, wastes and overspends, carers, disability services
FF/FG failed on every aspect of government, but they succeeded in helping their buddies the banks, greedy builders and the developers. Just look at the profits the banks are now making on the backs of the citizens of Ireland.
Is huge problem i vote them as got mary a house. They did nothing as if mary was entitled to house she should get it if they took someone s else house then councillor/ td broke law. That s one reason country full these political candidates that take daddys seat when retirement comes
Vote FFG and Greens out in honour of all the innocent people that have been slaughtered in Gaza by the Israeli arms and bombs that are being shipped through Shannon which the Irish government wount stop
It seems extraordinary that housing is all about social housing and ignoring the fact that ordinary working people who want to buy houses are completly squeezed out. This is by all the local authorities and government funded housing NGO quangos on the one hand and foreign investment funds + individual foreign investors on the other hand. The occupants of these rental properties are often HAP funded social tenants.
There is little concern for ordinary housebuyers who must only look on enviously at the latest LO purchase of 32 houses for social housing in Portmarnock. Only the best for social housing, meanwhile those who go out to work early in the morning are stuck in their overpriced rental kips.
The ad that would and should make the blood boil of any individual that’s on the fence is one fine gael were plugging this evening as I cast a video to the tv .. Harris talking about improving cancer care and disability .. im sorry but FG die hards are completely to blame for so much that’s gone wrong about Ireland & this video is an absolute disgrace
Trump announces 90-day tariff 'pause' on countries that 'have not retaliated', ratchets up China rate to 125%
Updated
1 hr ago
26.3k
97
Jim O'Callaghan
Justice Minister will not be attending rank-and-file gardaí's annual conference this year
10 mins ago
28
trade war
China retaliates with 84% levy on US goods as Trump says pharma tariffs coming 'very shortly'
Updated
7 hrs ago
45.2k
144
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 164 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 111 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 146 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 116 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 136 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 76 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 47 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 93 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 100 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 55 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 91 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say