No Town For Ordinary People…?

Meh

atest press release from Sinn Féin candidate Brian Fogarty, issued on Thursday, May 16th 2024…

Wicklow Sinn Féin local election candidate Brian Fogarty has torn into the government’s – and in particular, the Taoiseach Simon Harris’s – record on housing in Wicklow, and its impact on ordinary people in Greystones.

The North Wicklow seaside town has some of the highest rents in the state outside of Dublin. Eye-watering amounts – including an average of almost €1,000 a week for a three-bedroom home as advertised on Daft.ie. – means people are being crucified by the housing crisis across Wicklow.

But nowhere more than in Greystones. Fogarty says, “Greystones is the hometown of the Fine Gael Taoiseach Simon Harris, a town which has rapidly become the town which is ‘No Town for Ordinary People’.

“Ordinary people already stretched to the limit with the crazy cost-of-living crisis we are all forced to deal with on everyday basis, but those who are forced to rent accommodation are being fleeced by some of the highest rents in the state outside of Dublin.”

A quick analysis of Daft.ie reveals the average rental cost of a three-bedroom home is running at €927 a week, or €3, 700 a month.

“Where in the name of God does Simon Harris think that ordinary people are going to be able to get almost €1,000 a week for a place to live.

“This is the reality for ordinary people in Fine Gael’s Ireland. It is the crisis brought about by continual mismanagement by both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail of the housing crisis.

“Simon Harris is a Wicklow man, he lives here in Greystones, but I don’t know how he can look ordinary people struggling to pay rents and mortgages in the face here.

“Even a two-bedroom apartment in Greystones is now running at €570 a week. An analysis of the twelve available two-bed apartments shows an average monthly rent of €2,281.

“And yet Simon Harris and his government are doing everything in their power to convince the country that they have a handle on the situation.

“Mortgage holders and those seeking to buy their own home are also suffering as a result of the government’s mismanagement.

“The current average asking price for a three-bedroom house in Greystones according to Myhome.ie currently stands at €592,000, the national average price for the same three-bed home is €397,000.

“Basically, if you want to buy a house to live in Greystones you are going to have to pay just under €200,000 more than the national average for the privilege.”