A NEW VISION FOR HOUSING THE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSED COMMISSION ON HOUSING PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE BEHIND THE BOOM AND BUST CYCLES OF THE PAST AND DEVISE A SETTLED AND EFFECTIVE HOUSING POLICY.
I
n the Programme for Government, there is a proposal for a commission on housing and the Government is currently working
on the terms of reference. The Government may opt for a narrow brief focusing on a specified set of problems to be solved within the framework of current housing policies. This would be a lost opportunity. A commission could provide a timely and muchneeded opportunity to look rigorously at our housing system and seek an explanation for the perennial cycles of shortages and high prices. A wider scope would also allow an exploration of how other aspects of public policy either accentuate
housing
problems,
or
are
themselves tainted by policies designed to incentivise housing supply.
FEATURE Tom Dunne Chair, Residential Tenancies Board, and Editor, Surveyors Journal
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SURVEYORS JOURNAL Volume 11, Issue 1, Spring 2021
