"Meeting housing needs means redirecting our resources"

[Brendan Burgess]

Interesting article by John Fitzgerald

Meeting housing needs means redirecting our resources

Ireland has devoted too much of our domestic resources to producing what foreigners want rather than what we most need at home

www.irishtimes.com

In summary
Irish people want to work in high paying tech jobs in preference to building houses.
We need to redirect them towards building houses

It is not a question of shifting software engineers from working for IT companies to becoming electricians wiring up new houses. Rather the education and training system needs to guide our young people to acquire the skills that are in short supply. Pay rates in hard-to-fill jobs will have to rise if we are to attract the necessary workers to build many more homes.

If we are serious about dealing with our housing and infrastructure shortages, these are the kinds of issues that must be addressed. However, changes will take time to mature.

 

[Purple]

I've said here before that an increased PAYE allowance should be given to anyone with a building Trade qualification who is actually working at that trade. The other area where there is a serious labour shortage is qualified heavy equipment drivers. If they were getting an extra €10,000 a year on their tax bands it would attract people into the sector.
If we want skilled immigrants from outside the EU then offer them work visas which have a tax refund scheme where if they stay a minimum of 5 years they'll get 50% of the tax they paid back if they then leave they country. They are then ineligible for a work visa for 10 years. That way we incentivise skilled labour without adding the economic cost of housing and educating their families.

 

[T McGibney]

I've said here before that an increased PAYE allowance should be given to anyone with a building Trade qualification who is actually working at that trade.

They've actually done the opposite, going after builders and tradesmen who wished to work as independent contractors, under the guise of blocking "bogus self-employment". Anyone who makes that jump now will suffer 20% RCT tax deduction on turnover at source for up to 3 years.