Sir, – Is there any merit in developing a mechanism whereby a portion of “ghost” housing estates could be made available to new-recruit public sector workers, frontline in particular, as a means to create viable communities and ensure that public sector services are not undermined?
While the continued efficiencies brought about through public sector reform are eye-opening, the continued moratorium on public sector recruitment will result in the functional efficiency of this sector becoming stressed and stale over time. As a result, the provision of frontline services such as in the areas of crime prevention, education, health, social care and local governance - services which contribute to quality of life and quality of local communities and which even impact on attractiveness for FDI - will suffer. I propose a means to inject fresh blood into this sector to help ensure the provision of services that every citizen of this State is entitled to.
Legislation should be brought forward which would see the development of a recruitment scheme whereby existing skilled workers and graduates in occupations critical to public service provision who do not currently own a property would enter a quasi “rent-to-buy” initiative. The rent paid to the State would offset a proportion of the salary of these groups of individuals. Over time these public sector workers would own their own properties; socially interactive and viable communities would be created and critical services would be maintained.
Nama’s net may need to be cast wider or its remit changed, and unions may need to be convinced, but the barriers to this suggestion are surmountable and the benefits are considerable.
It’s better than auctioning the estates to property speculators.
The scheme could act as a stimulus to resolve more modest overhang in key urban areas through careful management and consideration of future demand and to ensure that more significant overhang in regions such as the West, Border and Midlands and public service deficits in those areas are addressed.
This idea is a part solution and is not intended as a means of featherbedding the public sector. It is not subsidised housing. The availability of some 33,000 vacant and near-completed housing units suggests capacity to ensure we all have the frontline services we deserve, to address social housing lists, to provide sheltered housing for the elderly, to provide step-down services, to provide quality accommodation to those who volunteer within our society and much more as and where appropriate.
It will also provide employment to hard-hit construction workers, for example, through retrofitting and estate completion. While the existing wheels are in motion perhaps it’s time we pulled the broken cart that is Ireland’s property market to one side and decided where exactly we want to go with this issue, whom we want to really help and what kind of future we want to build. – Yours, etc,