Republican News · Thursday 27 March 2002

Whose side is the ICTU on?

So the ICTU found themselves on the side of the employers once again. Does that not give them a cause to worry? We have had six partnership deals that have given us the second most unequal society in the industrialised world.

They have given employers the lowest rate of business taxes and left workers without the right to adequate redundancy payments or indeed the right to union recognition in the workplace.

Partnership has left us with record homelessness and ever growing housing waiting lists, with a massively underfunded health service where patients are dying because of cutbacks. Then there are the rundown rat infested schools, the 20% school drop out rate, the 24% functional illiteracy.

This clearly isn't sustaining progress. It is something much worse. It is a bad day for the trade union movement.

Housing crisis deepens

Despite the economic slowdown, there has been no relief in the housing market in the 26 Counties and people are still being fleeced by property developers.

In the news this week was Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe, highlighting that the price of homes in a new development in Tallaght were gazzumped by the developer from €198,000 to €214,000 in the space of three days.

How can people even on above average incomes be expected to afford a home when such gross profiteering goes unchecked? Is the government going to address it? Fat chance.

Even if current housing output targets are achieved, the local authority housing waiting lists will still probably reduce by less than 1,400 per year nationally, due to more people coming into need.

This means that it could take approximately 30 years to clear the lists and tens of thousands of men, women and children will be forced to live on the streets or in low standard accommodation. People are suffering terrible living conditions, high rents and massive mortgages directly as a result of the government's failed housing policy.