The Finance Minister is once again being called on to reconsider his approach to an 8 billion euro surplus from last year in light of the housing crisis.
Michael McGrath says the surplus should be used to set up a sovereign wealth fund to protect against future economic shocks.
However the organisers of a ‘Raise the Roof’ rally and march in the city tomorrow say the housing market and rental sector need immediate government funding to improve affordability.
Speaking to RedFM News, housing policy analyst Dr Lorcan Sirr says Minister McGrath needs to reassess his approach:
"It's all the costs of putting people up in HAP, RAS -the Rental Accommodation Scheme, and also the hidden costs of this: the mental, emotional, as well as financial costs of everybody else. There's no point in saying that your problem is solved if you're paying €2000 euro a month on rent, when really you earn enough money and you should have a mortgage and be a homeowner. I would disagree with them in I think that some of those funds should definitely be targeted as particularly taking people and families out of hotel rooms".
