Labour election candidate says homeownership should not be a 'pipe dream'

Michael Bolton

A candidate for Labour in the upcoming general election says homeownership should not be a "pipe dream" for people.

Councillor Laura Harmon, a candidate for the party in Cork South Central, made the comments as the Government look set to miss out on their housing targets for 2024.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office this week showed 21,634 units in total have been completed in the first three quarters of the year, down by more than three per cent on the first nine months of 2023.

It was also announced on Friday that the number of homeless people in the country reached 14,760 in September.

Speaking to BreakingNews.ie, Ms Harmon says she is concerned the housing crisis will lead to people renting when they become pensioners.

"The cost of housing today is very prohibited for people", said Ms Harmon.

"I think if you work in this country, you are contributing to society. The idea of homeownership should not be a pipe dream, it should be something in everyone's grasp.

"I think a lot of people feel they are locked out of that. One of my main worries, and I think, it is a ticking time bomb for the future, my generation and those younger, if we don't own homes by pension age there will be a lot of poverty.

"We can't have a whole generation of pensioners paying sky-high rents. They won't be able to afford it."

Derelict buildings

One of the ways Ms Harmon says the Labour Party will tackle housing is targeting derelict buildings, and used Cork as an example of the problem.

"We have over 700 derelict properties in Cork city centre alone. I feel these need to be taxed at a level where it is unviable to leave properties vacant. It should be financially unviable for people to hoard properties and let them sit there in a housing crisis.

"We also need to invest in apprenticeships and skills to build more. The housing crisis needs to treated as an emergency, like the Covid-19 pandemic.

"When I hear the current Government speak about housing, I don't hear urgency. I think we need to scale up the ambition when it comes to housing in Ireland."

Ms Harmon is contesting a constituency with a number of big names, including Tánsiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, and Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire.

I do believe people do want to see some change in the next election.

However, with Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney one of several Fine Gael TDs to step away from politics, and Michael McGrath taking up a position in Europe, Ms Harmon is hoping there can be new faces representing the constituency.

"I am getting very positive feedback on the doors, and I do believe people do want to see some change in the next election.

"They want to see somebody new, they want to see somebody with fresh ideas, somebody with a track record as a campaigner, who will be outspoken for the constituency.

"The way I look at it, there is five seats. The first three are probably set, but I think the last two seats are wide open."