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Ireland’s cold snap places focus back on cost-of-living pressures

Inside Politics: Housing remains central issue in Irish politics, despite low attendance at debate

A high-voltage electrical substation damaged by a Russian missile strike in central Ukraine earlier this month. Russia is targeting energy facilities resulting in blackouts in every part of Ukraine. Photograph: New York Times

Pat Leahy's face
Pat Leahy
Wed Nov 23 2022 - 08:18

Good morning.

The war in Ukraine and its fallout is not going away. As the weather turns cold, the increased cost of heating is beginning to bite. The subsidies, grants and various allowances provided by Government will alleviate some of the hardship, but they will not eliminate it. A difficult winter lies ahead for many people. Our off-lead today suggests that electricity prices will not fall in the short term, while in our lead story, Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports that economic growth will tumble under the weight of rising prices.

But if it’s getting cold in Ireland, it’s an awful lot colder in Ukraine, where Russia is trying to systematically destroy the energy infrastructure that makes winters liveable there. Refugees from the war continue to arrive here, straining the State’s capacity and resources, particularly in the provision of accommodation. People from other parts of the world seeking help and protection under international law are also arriving in greater numbers than before, and even if some of them see their claims rejected, they are here for the foreseeable future while the State processes those claims.

Many communities have welcomed Ukrainian refugees, such as the one in Co Offaly that purchased three mobile homes for their new arrivals, as reported by Shauna Bowers.

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There are signs that growing refugee numbers from elsewhere is becoming a political issue. Yesterday Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman was at the Oireachtas committee that shadows his department and he decried attempts by “nefarious groups” to exploit local concerns about the arrival of refugees in the East Wall area of Dublin, where there has been protests in recent days over plans to accommodate refugees in a former ESB office building.

He said the Government expected 72,000 people to have arrived here from Ukraine by the end of the year. The Government has said it will not limit arrivals from Ukraine, while it is also under legal obligations to accept other asylum seekers and process their claims. At present it does not have a system that processes these claims quickly. The pressure on resources and on the State’s capacity to deal with these extraordinary numbers will continue, and politically, the issue will not go away. Cormac McQuinn’s report on the latest developments in this regard is here.

On our op-ed pages, Catherine Day says she is part of an expert group that has advised O’Gorman and his department to build six reception and integration centres and fast-build accommodation for thousands of refugees, to be overseen by a new State agency.

Cormac has more unwelcome news for the Greens, too: the barely launched climate action plan is already falling behind.

A House divided

But it’s housing that remains the central issue in politics – something that Sinn Féin never, ever forgets. Last night the Dáil debated a Sinn Féin private members’ motion to declare a “housing emergency”. If you missed it for some reason, you wouldn’t have been entirely amazed by its conduct: Sinn Féin accused the Government of failing young people, while the Government claimed it was making progress, and accused Sinn Féin in turn of having critical soundbites but no workable plan of its own. In other words, what you hear in the Dáil every other day. The only difference this time was that only a handful of TDs from across the parties turned up.

Sinn Féin timed its motion well – it coincided with a Daft report that showed rents increased at breakneck rates, while in a few days there will be a major housing demonstration in Dublin, supported not just by Sinn Féin but by other Opposition parties and a range of trade unions, NGOs and campaign groups. The Government will be watching the numbers and the nature of the attendance anxiously. Or at least they should be.

Best reads

The Spiritan order has disclosed the extent of its assets. Their wealth, and the wealth of other religious orders, is very considerable

HSE workers wonder where their backdated pay rise is – civil servants got this last month

Sparky exchanges in the Dáil on neutrality

Miriam Lord is in awe of the exquisite trowel-work in the Dáil chamber by Matt Shanahan.

Playbook

The Dáil meets at 9.12am for topical issues, followed by a private members’ motion on transport for Galway, which the Cabinet yesterday decided not to oppose, which is a polite way of ignoring it. Leaders’ Questions at noon, then Taoiseach’s questions and then two big pieces of Government legislation – the finance Bill and the social welfare Bill. The weekly votes are at 10pm tonight.

Highlights in the Seanad include statements on public order – a hot topic this week after two gardaí were assaulted in Ballyfermot – and a motion on neutrality.

It’s a busy day at the committees. The IDA is in to discuss the recent lay-offs in the tech sector. Heather Humphreys is in to discuss her estimates at the social welfare committee, while Hildegarde Naughton is doing the same at the transport committee, and Catherine Martin at the arts and culture committee. Charlie McConalogue will answer questions about the controversial Horse and Greyhound Fund at the agriculture committee. Half a dozen lobby and representative groups are in to discuss the Report of the Commission on Taxation at the budgetary oversight committee – where they will all argue that their members should be taxed less. Full details of the day in the Oireachtas are here.

Meanwhile, at the World Cup, it’s Morocco vs Croatia, Spain vs Costa Rica, Germany vs Japan and Belgium vs Canada. As ever, follow all the action here.