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FOLLOWING MONTHS OF obstruction, the coalition government has admitted that a 2024 general election is on, we just don’t have a date yet. Speculation is rife for late November, which would result in a very short campaign with little space to scrutinise the government’s term – so just how has the coalition performed?
The coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party has formed the 32nd, 33rd and 34th Dáil. Collectively the parties agreed to an ambitious and robust programme for government rammed with commitments for national action plans, referenda and expansive reform. If effectively delivered and implemented, the programme for government could have delivered substantial change.
Before breaking down some of the successes, failings, and unfulfilled goals, it is worth recalling that the current government was established amidst a global pandemic, and the resultant shift in focus and diversion of resources will invariably have had an impact on the full delivery of the programme for government.
That said, the housing crisis continues, homelessness figures are at a record high, and poverty levels are rising. For a government with such a significant budget surplus, its benefits do not appear to have been felt by those most in need. Let’s take a look at some of the government’s core commitments.
Under the government’s Housing for All Strategy, shy of 74,000 new homes have been built since 2021, nearly 2,000 homes have been purchased under the First Home scheme for new buyers, and 5,000 applications for a Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant to bring derelict or unused buildings back into use have been approved.
According to the 2022 census, there are 163,433 vacant properties in Ireland, home ownership is at its lowest level in half a century, Dublin is now the second most expensive place in Europe to live, and homelessness figures increased to a new record of 14,760 – the ninth consecutive month that the number of people in emergency housing has risen. The figures include 4,561 children in emergency accommodation and fail to account for rough sleepers or the hidden homeless like those couch surfing.
The government insists it is doing everything it can to bring up supply, but the unfortunate reality is that new builds have not met demand, market prices are increasing and the number of vacant dwellings not in use has barely shifted. Despite all the seemingly worthy government efforts, the needle has yet to move. Bold, innovative steps need to be taken when it comes to addressing this critical shortage of the most vital resource in the country. Housing will yet again be one of the most pressing issues in the election cycle.
There were high expectations from climate activists and Green Party supporters that the Greens going into government would significantly shift the dial on green policies. Over the course of the government term, there has been a marked increase in green strategies and ring-fenced funding, however, Ireland is still set to dramatically miss its 2030 emission targets.
Analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reveals that if implemented, planned climate policies and measures will result in a 29 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, while the government target in the Climate Action Plan is a 51 per cent reduction. The Climate Change Advisory Council has warned that Ireland could face upwards of €8 billion in fines for failing to meet EU Climate targets.
The Programme for Government promised a more affordable, accessible healthcare system as well as broader commitments to overhaul mental health services. The 2023 Sláintecare progress report outlined advances in community health networks, community intervention teams (CITs), and increased services for women’s health, but systemic problems remain largely unchanged.
In June 2024, 711,799 people were on hospital waiting lists, the latest figures showed a 4 per cent decrease in people exceeding the outpatient and Gastrointestinal (GI) scope wait times, but an overall increase in hospital wait lists. In addition to hospital waitlists, there are rising community health waitlists with almost 300,000 people waiting for a range of care services including physiotherapy.
Ireland’s health infrastructure is not meeting demand despite increased funding. At the core of this issue is a staffing shortfall, with acute staff shortages in healthcare in turn placing enormous pressure on service providers. Earlier this month, healthcare unions held protests over staff shortages. The unions contend that the HSE’s recruitment moratorium means thousands of unfilled vacancies have essentially been scrapped, resulting in staff shortages.
Overhauling Ireland’s mental health law and introducing long-overdue reform to mental health services were a key commitment of this government that will remain unfulfilled in this mandate. Calling an early election will result in the Mental Health Bill not passing into law before the dissolution of parliament. The reform measures in this bill have been in the works for a decade – not fulfilling this commitment will have a detrimental impact on service users and young people.
Taoiseach Simon Harris frequently uses the language “a new social contract” which in the programme for government includes commitments to social protection, family carers, equality, disability and direct provision. The annual Family Carers Ireland State of Caring report states that the core issues identified in 2020 remain deeply entrenched.
The 2023 Family Carers score card on the 18 government care commitments showed progress in just three areas with limited-to-no progress on 11 commitments and regression in four, including providing additional respite nights for disabled people, expanding adult day services and introducing a statutory home support team. For those with caring responsibilities and the disabled community, little-to-no progress has been made to improve their quality of living.
A further failure of the care community was the government’s handling of the Care referendum earlier this year, alongside the Family referendum. In addition to losing both, the government failed to bring forward commitments to hold a referendum on housing, and on extending presidential voting rights to Irish citizens outside the state – a measure first recommended in the 2012 convention on the constitution, and again delayed.
The coalition parties appear to favour a short election campaign, with expectations that the Dáil could be dissolved on 8 November ahead of a 29 November election. A short campaign may place opposition parties on the back foot, but a sizeable chunk of Fine Gael’s sitting TDs stepping down it could backfire for Harris, who is leaving little time for his new party candidates to raise their profiles.
In preparation, legislation is being fast-tracked with hefty bills on planning, hate crimes, and gambling all advancing into law. The coalition parties ran the government together, but they will not run the general election together; each party will be vying for gains, and with those gains, a return to government. The question for any voter heading to the polls should be whether or not our lives have improved since the last election, and if not, which party has the capacity to improve them.
Emma DeSouza is a writer and campaigner.
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Para better hide because he will find you and you know the rest
He’s got certain skills alright
Liam should take it as a compliment. He is right
5 year old boy shots his 9 month old brother in the head, killing the child.Yeah Para is right, Neeson hasn’t a clue. (Sarcasm ).
Context, Norman. Context.
Too many fu***king Irish ignoramuses commenting on a subject they are clueless about.
Don’t talk about yourself like that Simon.
Simon . what part did he not have a clue about ??
Neeson was born in Ballymena Co. Antrim in 1952, he grew up during the so called troubles and saw first hand what firearms can do in the hands of the “culturally and factually educated”, if these fools want to debate this point with him, its their mistake.
You have a point, but I wouldn’t call The Troubles “so-called”. It was called the Troubles for a reason.
Too many stars in your self censorship
“Factual ignorance”?
An example would help, lads
No one has ever died because America has too many guns and if you disagree you’re a communist.
Stupid, inaccurate statement and I’m not a communist
Its neither stupid nor inaccurate. Funnily enough in countries where there are strict gun laws and where guns aren’t readily available people don’t just walk into schools and open fire on each other. When guns are as freely available as they are in the US anyone can gain access to them including Teenagers, kids and people with mental illness. In certain states it is easier to get a gun than it is to vote. It’s a pretty warped sense of logic when you can legally purchase a firearm at the age of 18 but are breaking the law by buying a beer at the same age.
I will find you. And para better beware.
Are you kidding? Tell that to the parents of the kids killed at Sandy Hook school. Your comment is very stupid.
The stats for America vs the world are here. http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/jul/22/gun-homicides-ownership-world-list
Now tell me that no one in America has died from having too many guns. I think you were living under a rock all this time
I’d imagine the Troubles up North would have been made infinitely worse had every person been legally armed to the teeth. Clearly it’s Para who are culturally ignorant.
‘Murica
I think Liam Neeson’s career will do just fine.
Ha! Factual ignorance, good one!
Para just shot the freedom of speech
… That would be the American solution to the problem aright. He just hi-lighted a huge obvious social problem that seems to be brushed under the carpet every time something happens.
Your forgetting about the $$$$$$
Ye he highlighted the problem all while he glorifies violence and gun culture, and makes a pretty penny off the back off it. He’s a hypocrite.
You do realise it’s a film and not real . Right ! Lol
@Cian Doherty – if we extend your logic, if an actor plays the role of a psycho in a film, but is actually a peace loving individual in real life and doesn’t in fact condone psycho shit, he is by your definition a hypocrite?
Plot for next movie: an unarmed Liam Neeson is attacked while on holiday in Connemara by 1000 terrorists all armed to the teeth with Para-brand weapons! Needless to say he kills them all with his bare hands, but there’s a lot of collateral damage – mostly farmers and sheep. Enraged, Liam rings the Para CEO and tells him he’s coming for him. You can guess the rest…
I’d go see that! Lol!
Anybody who effects or profit margin is an ignorant person.
I love America. Its one of the single most unequal societies in the West and has huge social problems that no one knows how to fix. But they can live with class warfare as long as you don’t talk about their gun rights. But then again we are all lefty loons over here…their words not mine.
In the recent coverage about Martin Luther King, I read an article that shows that while many Americans love and respect him, most media coverage cherry pick from his speeches and never show his speeches and writings from the last two or years of his life. In those couple of years his focus on injustice widened, and he began to talk about social injustice and social inequality across all races, not just blacks. It was basically what many would describe as a socialist message, but this part of his legacy continues to be ignored. There are areas in America, that if they were in Africa, Concern would be there.
See you have the wealthier dictating that they want to pay less tax to a society that is really good to them. The result is a society where only the richest can receive the best healthcare, education and other services.
Must look up that about Martin Luther King sounds very interesting indeed!
Here’s the link Spiderman. It’s an interesting article.
http://fair.org/slider/the-martin-luther-king-you-dont-see-on-tv/
“a cultural and factual ignorance”, the hypocrisy of such statement coming from one of the most close minded, ignorant right wing societies in the world.
Pretty sure that’s one of the best hash tags you’ve ever done guys.
‘Particular set of buzzkills’
Love it!
Of course para would say that it’s their livelihood being dissed!! Maybe if they were more stringent on who they gave guns to the comment wouldn’t need to be made! There are far too many guns out there … !
The number of guns isn’t the problem. The problem is that in many US states acquiring a gun licence requires no training in how to safely store, transport and use firearms. It’s perfectly fine to have a large number of guns (a la Canada or Switzerland) so long as regular training and medical or psychological checks are in place.
I can see “taken 4″ on the way!
Taken 4….Liam Neeson gets a Takeaway… One battered sausage can overcome.
Whatever about the ‘Second Amendment and American Liberties’; what about the First Amendment which is ‘Freedom of Speech’. Surely this is just as important. Are people not allowed to voice their opinion on a subject which is proven factual. What are the gun companies afraid of? Less sales of their products because some actor highlights an important issue? If anything, is the use of their guns in these films, not an advertisement for their product? Not condoning it, just making a point. Seems like to me it is fine from the gun companies point of view to advertise it through a film, just as long as you don’t come out saying ‘guns are a real problem in society’. The second amendment was written a long time ago and needs to be ‘amended’ to the present day. Stop hiding behind an archaic law and shouting ‘It’s our right to bear arms’. Its to easy to say that.
Just as Liam Neeson is free to voice his disapproval of the Second Amendment, PARA are free to voice their disapproval of his public statements and refuse his custom in the future.
As for advertisement, firms like PARA don’t manufacture their own distinctive firearms so the advertisement value is minimal. They actually get more free advertisement by announcing they’re never dealing with Neeson than they would hope to see by dealing with him.
“Comments made by its Irish-born star…” I.e. he’s not American therefore his opinion doesn’t matter!
America! F**K YEAH!!!!
Yours patriotically,
A Bald Eagle
Maybe Liam could write the baddies a strongly worded letter next time a member of his family is abducted.
Hey Kirk, it was a movie ok, now back to sleep, ssh ssssh!
It does tend to glorify violence and guns does it not?
Not really. Not one person I know has felt the urge to chase people around a city shooting guns after watching any Liam Neeson movie. Knowing the difference between a movie and real life is as important as knowing the difference between an eighteenth century definition of “bearing arms” with carrying a personal arsenal around in your pocket to threaten others.
So are you saying no one has ever been influenced by a movie?
Oh no, one of over ten thousand gun companies will no longer supply props for Liams movies. I guess he will be stuck with having to use guns from Beretta, Colt, Sig Saur, H&K, Glock, and all the other companies which people have actually heard of and not some small unknown of company that no one really cares about anyway.
Para Ordinance (full title)is btw a Canadian company not American.Thing is once a small cpmpany sets a trend over in Hollyweird in arms in the films.The big boys follow.
Cant wait for The Grey 2.Neeson sits down and has a good chat with the wolf pack to discuss their inner child issues.
Film producers tend to try and avoid the big names wherever possible because their firearms are highly recognisable and, thus, more expensive. Companies like PARA manufacture guns (in this case, the Browning 1911) which are past their patent protection date so any gun manufacturer can make versions of them with the right tools.
The fact is the US is too swamped with guns now to reel them in. Citizens need guns to protect themselves from armed criminals and the worst case scenario of an overbearing government turning the militarised police force against its own people.
In an ideal world there would be no guns but if I was an American I would not be handing over my firearms any time soon.
“It’s my gun….. and I’m going home”
Para sucks
We should all send a petition to Obama. I mean why can’t US be like Ireland with no guns on the streets, no shootings, punishment shootings (now there’s one they are short on in the US) armed robberies, car hijackings and ‘mistaken identity’ killings and of course the ever popular gangland killings?
Yeah Tom .With the strictest gun laws in the EU for legal gun ownership with the lowest numbers of gun ownership ad well.We should be a poster boy for the anti gun brigade…But we have a rising illegal gun crime problem where it is easier to get an illegal gun in Dublin than a legal one .
But that shouldnt happen!!!!Maybe more strict gun laws will stop the criminals this time!
Good move by Para.Wayyy too many anti gun fiction factory actors and actresses who have no problem using and glorifying the nasty things to make millions for themselves and live with armed protectiom in their mansions in Beverly Hills.But then have the audacity to go blame an inanimate object for the violence they acted out on screen becomes reality. Well done Liam ..Go collect your anti gun hyprocrite Hollywood actor membership on the way out..
there is a world of difference between the fantasy of carrying an onscreen guns in a fictional story and people who actually have and use guns. TV is fantasy! I watched Trainspotting, still haven’t become a drug addict.
he’s right you know
So much butthurt.
There’d no more gun crime in the US if everyone held a loaded gun pointed at everyone else.
Until the first trigger is pulled and all hell breaks loose.
That’s a bit below para…
Never heard of Para until now. Publicity Stunt.
In 1982, Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to just 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole.18
Today, the violent crime rate in Kennesaw is still 85% lower than Georgia’s or the national average
The Second Amendment says they have the right to bear arms, fair enough..maybe a bolt action rifle or a Shotgun but these guys making fully automatic machine guns that are so easy to fire that a child could use them is just taking the piss.. what person needs this type of firearm in their home? At least a bolt action rifle or shotgun can be used for hunting purposes but these type of rapid fire, high powered weapons should only be made available to people who really need to use them i.e army soldiers
Anthony, the Second Amendment was to insure that the American citizen could form a militia to fight the English or future dictator. So an “Assault” rifle is not unreasonable to fight in modern warfare like smart bombs or attack drones. Do I think people need fully auto rifles? No I don’t. In the US you need a Federal license to have that and it’s impossible to get.
It was not about hunting, in 1776 if you didn’t hunt you didn’t eat.
Go to Para USA Facebook page.
“I stand with Liam Neeson.”
I don’t get it I read about shootings everyday in Ireland. I thought hand guns are illegal in Ireland.
What planet are you living on? We don’t have a gun crime rate like America, Guns here are illegal and the police force on both sides have been cracking down on firearms. it’s nearly impossible to get a gun here
Every time I click my fingers, Liam Neesons film character offs another baddie.
Coming Summer 2016! Liam feels un appreciated after fans boycott his movie. Liam Neeson stars in TAKEN 4….GRANTED
Paranoia!
Always nice to follow the Yanks ranting about their amendments. Let them be and ignore them. Neeson is American and has every right to challenge the issue, this is such typical American behaviour that will see them looking over their shoulder more and more.
have your say