Referendum on Housing
Referendum on Housing
The Issue
Let's Get This Referendum DONE! : Sign and Share : 41,490 Views 1,576 Shares
(You don't have to make a contribution to Sign this Petition!)
Please Sign this petition for a Referendum on Housing (and share) if you agree that:-
"All Irish (EU) citizens should be able to afford to OWN their own home or rent at affordable rates, on average incomes, in their own country."
No one can solve the Housing Crisis until this Referendum is passed asap.
Defective Irish Constitution
The Irish Constitution gives priority to property rights. Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) of land is only supported by the Constitution for the "common good" like ESB pylons, dangerous road bends, the construction of the Luas, bus corridors etc. The Constitution does not include the CPO purchase of land (at agricultural price) by Local Authorities for homes as a "common good" - like other countries.
A Referendum on Housing is essential to fix this.
The defective Irish Constitution has led to:-
- The "Locked Out Generation": No Affordable Homes within the ownership reach of those on average incomes (€35,000 pa)
- Rack Rents: "Renters forced to pay other people's mortgages and trapped by the Central Bank's unfair deposit rules - unable to save for a deposit."
- Evicted Homeless: "The Final Fallout of a defective Constitution"
A Referendum on housing/land was first proposed in 1974 and again in 2014 by the Constitutional Convention. A Referendum would have prevented the 2008 housing CRASH and will prevent the next one. The badly defective Irish Constitution must be fixed urgently to solve housing.
No housing crash occurred in France, Germany … etc due to their well developed Constitutions.
Germany: A particular property interest is ONLY protected in law to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity (need for shelter / housing) and self-governance.
France: The Local Authority can CPO land on the periphery of villages, towns and cities at agricultural prices and make it available at cost to individuals, builders or for social housing.
A Referendum will trigger all the necessary changes in legislation to remove all the barriers and provide all the enablers to deliver affordable home ownership in Ireland for future kids.
Please share this Petition link to get this most important Referendum DONE!
-------------- Reference Support Material ---------------
Central Bank rules are biased against Irish Citizens.
The Central Bank is acting against the legitimate interests of Irish citizens to own their own homes, with mortgage rules that don’t apply to Investment Funds OR Local Authorities who can buy up homes without such restrictions and exclude Irish citizens.
The Central Bank should be supporting citizens and pressing for low cost affordable homes, to avoid the inflated reckless mortgages currently required to purchase homes in Ireland. Irish homes are significantly overvalued which can mean only one thing .. another Crash and negative equity once again.
Amendment:
Germany's Constitution is a good benchmark, as are others, for an amendment. More than 80 countries around the world provide a right to housing in their Constitutions.
German constitutional law treats property as a derivative, or instrumental, value in the general constitutional scheme. It strongly protects a particular property interest ONLY to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity (need for shelter / housing) and self-governance.
This provision does not adversely impact on Germany's general property rights.
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The root cause of the Irish Housing Crisis is "COST of BUILD" (mainly land costs) - not "Supply" which is only a symptom. A Referendum on housing is essential to fix this.
What a Change in the Irish Constitution would mean in practice:-
- Lower "Cost of Build" due mainly to lower land costs- This is the root cause of the supply shortage.
- Lower "Barrier to Entry" for individuals and small and medium builders who could deliver 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 house projects because of reduced funding requirements and so increase competition to deliver lower house prices.
- No VAT tax (€28,000 ) on new houses (basic need in the hierarchy of needs) like EU, UK & NI and all advanced democracies. You can't tax basic needs like food, shelter, healthcare etc...!
- "MaxTax" Taxpayers who earn just €35,300 pa will no longer be excluded from home ownership while at the same time paying to fund HAP and social homes - very wrong.
- No Central Bank rules forcing Rental (paying the mortgages of others) v Ownership leading to artificially inflated house prices and reckless inflated mortgages with certain crash outcome. Referendum recommended in 1974 by Kenny Report would have prevented the 2008 crash. A Referendum is essential to prevent the next crash.
- First Refusal to Local Authorities for building land in and adjacent to urban centres at agricultural price + 25%.
- Lower energy and lower infrastructural costs (water, waste, roads, electricity, broadband, school transport, etc ...) by LA urban extensions.
- Farmstead only homes in rural areas.
- CPO - Compulsory Purchase of Land for housing like compulsory purchase of land for road widening .... common good trumps private enrichment at the expense of the community.
- No evictions by landlords on sale or upgrade of rented family homes. Compensation where vacation is upheld by the courts, like other civilised societies.
- No sale of bulk mortgages to vulture funds. Occupier (Family First) gets first refusal to purchase the mortgage.
- Only charge on a loan/mortgage is the asset - like US Law. You can hand back the keys - US law has "Equality of Risk Sharing" between lender and borrower - No Debt 'till Death by EU Banks (legacy from 12th century European serf laws).
- Mortgages based on "last selling price" + CPI (Scotland). No housing bubbles.
- No Boarded-up or vacant houses : Private or Social.
- No Tax on "Life Essentials" like food, water, shelter (Homes), clothing, Education, Healthcare, personal transport (work access)
- No Part 5 €5000 tax for social housing on first time buyers - regressive tax burden on first time buyers, excluding them from home ownership.
- No council levy of €10,000 on first time buyers? - regressive tax burden on first time buyers excluding them from home ownership.
- No LPT (property tax) tax on Family Homes (shelter) like Italy. Shelter is a "Life Essential". No tax on basic needs.
No 2-Tier LPT Tax on home owner Families like no LPT on families in State provided homes
- No hoarding of land to restrict supply to inflate price of land
- No restricted zoning laws to restrict supply of land to inflate profits for owners
- No "subjective", non-safety, cost inflating Planner stipulations.
- No cost inflating, non-safety, building Regs adding €10K recently to price of homes
- No ban on Bed-Sits which are essential for some in society.
- Rent certainty .. linked to CPI.
- Holiday Home Tax: Annual wealth tax on non residential homes such as second homes. Family homes are not wealth as they cannot generate an income stream or be disposed of as an asset - no where to live.
- No inheritance tax on Family Homes - shelter cannot be taxed like Sweden and other developed societies.
€76,000 (37%) is artificially added (mainly by Gov tax) to the price of a basic Irish House. Obscene.
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"Essential to Life" - "Hierarchy of Needs"
Family Homes are a basic need (Shelter) in the "Hierarchy of Needs" and "Essential to Life", like food, water, clothing, personal transport, healthcare, education .. etc.
Basic human needs should not be taxed or placed outside the 'ownership' reach of ordinary citizens through market manipulation or Government regulations, which is the case with family homes (shelter) in Ireland.
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Rent Trap
One signatory of the petition said "As a young person on average income I can’t get a mortgage to buy my own home but it’s ok for me to pay rent to pay some one else’s mortgage .... why am I forced to work for this person and increase HIS/HER wealth?"
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Locked Out Generation
Another signatory of the petition said "As a young person on an average income of €35,300 p.a. I am forced to pay MaxTax of 40% to fund HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) and social housing, while 'prevented' from access to owning my own affordable home ...."
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Central Bank anti Irish Rules
Another signatory of the petition said "As a first time buyer the Irish Central Bank places a demand on me of €26,000 deposit (10%) for a basic starter home in Ireland, which is impossible to save while paying exorbitant rent. Yet 'vulture funds' and Local Authorities can buy up homes without this restriction. The Central Bank's actions are acting against ordinary citizens rightful expectation to share in the wealth created by them within the state.
Charities for Housing!!!
Fr Peter McVerry and David Hall stated that a minimum of 30 of the Irish Dáil’s 158 TDs (Reps) are receiving private rental income from properties they own — including some in the Irish Cabinet. This clearly presents a potential for conflict of interest when enacting laws relating to housing and acts against ordinary citizen's rightful expectations to home ownership.
=================================
Root Cause of the Irish Housing Crisis
The root cause of the Irish Housing Crisis is "Cost of Build" - not "Supply" which is only a symptom.
Because the Irish Constitution is defective and does not give special status to Family Homes, they are subject to taxation and levies (by the State itself!), treated as commodities which gives rise to the basic inputs, such as land, planning permission, legal and other regulations etc. being manipulated by vested interests (incl. Government for taxes and levies) at the expense of citizens, causing excessive house prices and locking out a generation of young people from home ownership with all its destructive long term consequences. This is why the Constitution must be amended urgently by a REFERENDUM, to protect the right of citizens to own their own homes in their own country.
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Irish House prices 'artificially' inflated by 37%
Government Taxes on new Irish homes inflate the Cost of Build by 37%. VAT tax, alone, adds €28,000 to the price of new homes in Ireland. There is no VAT on homes (shelter) in other EU countries or the UK ... These Irish Government taxes and levies make basic houses unaffordable for ordinary average income earners. These artificially inflated house costs (due to Gov taxes) favour the Landlord Class and Vulture Funds who can off-set these high tax costs with tax breaks not available to the ordinary citizen.
Artificially inflated costs also favour big builders and squeeze out small builders due to onerous funding requirements for smaller, 2 to 10 home projects.
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Ireland v France - basic house price
Beziers, France: Starter Homes €160,000 (same size as Cork!)
Cork, Ireland : Starter Homes €230,000
- €70,000 more expensive in Ireland - WHY? - defective Constitution.
Those on €35,000 pa pay the MaxTax of 40% to fund social homes and HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) but cannot afford to own their own homes due to the inflated Cost of build in Ireland.
The MaxTax threshold in France is €76,000.
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Irish Billionaire Financier - Dermot Desmond
Dermot Desmond the Irish Billionaire Financier supports this Petition's objective.
He stated that "All Irish citizens should be able to afford their own home on average incomes in their own country"
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Judge Gerald Keys - Ireland an Unjust Society
Irish Judge Gerald Keys “When I became a judge, I swore to apply the law. I may not like it or agree with it it and it may be unjust to me, but it is the law. It can only be changed by the people through their public representatives, but I am now being put in a position where I have to make orders that will make people homeless and I do not like that one bit.”
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How Germany achieved a stable and affordable housing market – in its Constitution.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/06/how-germany-achieved-stable-and-affordable-housing.html
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The Irish Times newspaper summarised the Kenny Report lack of progress since 1974.
Quote: "Successive Irish governments and attorneys general would appear to have hidden behind a conservative interpretation of these (Constitutional) articles and there have been many calls for a referendum (since 1974!) to ensure the balance would always be weighted more towards the common good."
The fact that Ireland has had 38 Referenda to amend it's Constitution and this most basic Housing Referendum remains undone since 1974 tells the real story of power in Ireland which clearly is not in the hands of its citizens. Looks like we will again have to depend on an EU directive to fix our broken State.
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Dr Rory Hearne states:
The Housing for All plan must include, therefore, a clear commitment to hold a referendum to insert the right to housing in the Constitution, early in 2022.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/arid-40344152.html
Housing can no longer be left to the vagaries and inequalities of the private speculative market. Policy must dispense with its obsession with fixing the ‘property market’, creating a ‘property ladder’, boosting house prices and rents etc.
The priority of policy must be to ensure the access to, and delivery of, affordable, secure, decent quality housing for all. It must make policy in the interests of citizens, not investors.
The private property ‘rights’ of landlords and landowners must be balanced with a right to a home, in order to progress legislation that will provide for strong tenants’ rights, taxing vacant property and compulsory purchase of derelict housing and sites.
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Your Obligation as a Voters
"It is your duty as a citizen, to vote and to bring your brains to the Polling Booths, to bring about the change needed to deliver a fair and just Irish society."
Call for Referendum in Dail https://twitter.com/i/status/1313521775687405568
Do not vote for "Fake TDs" : Ask "will you vote in the Dail for me or the Party Whip?"
Lorcan Sirr (DIT) stated that 'Vulture Funds were NOT essential to revive the Irish Housing Market', as claimed by some Political Parties. Their absence would have led to a drop in land prices, allowing the entry of many small, SME and large builders due to much reduced funding requirements. This in turn would have dramatically increased supply and deliver lower 'affordable' house prices, while still making a profit.
Small and Medium sized builders are currently locked out of Housing supply, due to the many artificial barriers which can only be removed by a Referendum.
======== NEWS FLASH! =============
David McWilliams (Economist who predicted the 2008 CRASH! said
“The Irish housing market is a scam".
that Ireland is in need of a 'buyers strike' - to show that "we're not going to play this game". He has branded the current housing market "bonkers" and "crazy".
Taxpayers who pay €3/4 Billion every year to landlords (gifted to them by YOUR TD) in HAP subsidies (Housing Assistance Payments) need to consider a similar strike! Taxpayers need to bring their brains to the Polling Booths!
The same taxpayers are "Locked Out" of their own home ownership - daft!
The Government has no money - it belongs to you the hard working taxpayer - Vote to ensure it is used for your benefit and not vested interests.
=================================
News Flash! EU Parliament voted today (21/01/2021):-
- Housing costs should be kept affordable by law !!!!
- Access to adequate housing should be a fundamental European right.
- Call for an EU-wide goal to end homelessness by 2030
- Access to affordable housing as an enforceable human right.
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Irish Constitutional Convention - 2014
In 2014, the Irish Constitutional Convention –a body comprised of 100 randomly selected members of the public to consider future Constitutional reforms, recommended the inclusion of legally enforceable socio-economic rights in the Constitution, including the right to housing. This recommendation formed the basis of the 2017 Right to Housing Bill, which sought to insert a right to housing into the Irish Constitution by amendment to Article 43. The Bill was defeated in the Dáil by your 'elected' TDs but referred for further consideration to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.
To date, the Committee has not considered the provisions of the Bill.
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"Locked Out Generation" - Young people abused by the Irish Tax system
Young people who earn the average income of €35,300 p.a. are on MaxTax of 40% to fund HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) and social housing but are unable to afford to own their own homes. It is so important to Vote intelligently or else continue to be abused.
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German Constitution
How Germany achieved a stable functioning affordable housing system - by its Constitutional provision on Housing - Family Homes.
How Germany achieved stable & affordable housing for ALL groups in German society.
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Fake TDs
It is essential that all voters bring their brains to the Polling Booths, particularly young people and their PARENTS and GRANDPARENTS, and do not vote for "Fake TDs" who have no interest in reforming the unfair and unjust laws which have led to the "Locked Out Generation". "Fake TD" take their instructions from party hierarchy under the 'Whip system' who pursue the interests of lobby groups and vested interest groups and not those of the Voters.
Do not vote for "Fake TDs" : Ask "will you vote in the Dail for me or the Party Whip?"
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"Home for Good" Initiative
https://www.homeforgood.ie/assets/files/pdf/making_the_case_for_a_right_to_housing_in_ireland.pdf
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Typical Irish home build costs.
Amount per Unit:
Site Cost € 50,000 .... daft .. Agricultural land is €9,000 per acre!
Build Cost @ €100 per square foot, Size Average 1,100 = €110,000 .. new technology needed to drive down this daft cost. Factory production modular building like cars, TVs, furniture etc required and allowed by Planning System.
Roads & Infrastructure € 15,000
Utility Connections € 2,000
Legal Fees on Acquisition and Disposal, Marketing, Estate Agency Fees. € 6,000 ... self conveyancing law needed.
Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Consultants, Homebond and Stamp Duty. € 2,500 ... tax on life essentials unacceptable.
Part V Contributions to social housing € 5,000 ... should be from general progressive taxation.
Council Levies € 10,000 ?
Cost of Finance € 7,500
Total Costs €208,000
VAT @ 13.5% € 28,080
Sale Price €236,080
The equivalent French starter home is €160,000.
€76,000 ARTIFICIALLY added (mainly by Gov tax/levies) to price of basic Irish House. Obscene.
Essential need for "Family Home Special Status" provision in the Irish Constitution.
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Proposed FAMILY HOME LEGAL DEFINITION in the Irish Constitution:-
A Family Home is a basic need in the hierarchy of needs (shelter) and essential to life. All EU Family Homes should be Constitutionally protected to reflect this special status and provide a fundamental distinction from general property rights, superior to them, to ensure legislation is consistent with delivering “1-average-income” affordable homes for all groups in society (both private & social), without adversely affecting general property rights.
The German Constitution makes this distinction but it is absent from the Irish Constitution which is flawed and needs to be urgently upgraded.
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How Germany achieved stable & affordable housing for ALL groups in German society:
Germany has some distinct features that enables it to provide a plentiful supply of housing in response to increasing demand.
First and foremost, the German constitution contains an explicit ‘right-to-build’ clause …this “means that everyone is entitled to a permission to build on his or her property as long as there is no explicit legal rule against it.
…if the proposed building fits into the plan, permission has to be granted and if the local authorities deny it then a court will enforce it…
Although there is very close control of what can be built on any site, provided it meets the requirements of the master plan, a developer just can get on and build new housing without seeking development permission.
how-germany-achieved-stable-affordable-housing
The German court distinguishes between those property interests whose function is primarily or even exclusively economic, especially wealth-creating, and those that primarily serve a non-economic interest relating to the owner’s status as a moral and/or political agent - homes.
Only the latter are protected as fundamental constitutional interests.
Stated yet another way, German constitutional law treats property as a derivative, or instrumental, value in the general constitutional scheme. It strongly protects a particular property interest only to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity and self-governance.
Essential need for "Family Home Special Status" provision in the Irish Constitution.
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EU - European Pillar of Social Rights considers housing in its deliberations
Situation in the Member States
Directly enforceable rights to housing exist in a few Member States only, although provisions on the protection of the home appear in most national constitutions. Housing markets, regulations and support forms are very different but only a few Member States have a large social housing sector. Some forms of emergency accommodation are provided in each Member State, with usually separate mechanisms for asylum-seekers and refugees.
Significant differences exist across the EU in terms of shelter quality, coverage, capacity and support services. Homelessness has increased during the last decade in almost all EU countries and prolonged or recurrent shelter stays are common, yet only about half of the Member States implement integrated homelessness strategies. Shelter needs are especially high in countries receiving many migrants and/or refugees.
International dimensions
Various international provisions related to the right to housing and access to shelter apply e.g. the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; The Council of Europe’s European Social Charter and Revised Charter4 , the European Convention on Human Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention.5
The United Nation's sustainable development goals promote access to basic services and adequate, safe housing.
Russell Brand on Why You Will Own Nothing including a Home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTPzFSx6oI
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The Irish Petition on Unfair 2-Tier Motor Tax at 38,000
You can sign this petition at :- www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law
************** A Social Media Experiment *************
This petition is my social media experiment, to determine if ordinary citizens can initiate social / economic / tax changes by shifting voting patterns to eliminate gross unfairness and injustice in current laws for the benefit of ordinary hard working Irish (and EU) citizens, "who get up early in the morning", in which, clearly, their elected Fake TDs are not interested and couldn't care less.
The petition objective is :-
to inform and enlighten voters of grossly unfair and unjust laws passed by your TDs, so that voters will in future bring their brains to the polling booths and shift their voting pattern to force political change to right the wrongs in the current Irish Laws (i.e Housing, Health, Motor Tax, LPT, VAT on new homes ...etc) and to establish the Canons of Taxation as the accepted framework for fair and just taxation policy.
to empower themselves as taxpayers and to Refuse to be Abused.
The Government has no money - it belongs to you the hard working taxpayer - demand that it is used for your benefit and not vested interests.
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Power of Petitions
Online Petitions are a powerful mechanism for change. While they rarely get response from the decision makers who are embedded in vested interest administrations, they can influence Voters by being constantly in view, unlike TV or newspaper articles or other media which have fleeting impact. A very small shift in Voter pattern can be sufficient to change Governments who don't address the unfairness and injustice of existing laws and policies.
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2,211
The Issue
Let's Get This Referendum DONE! : Sign and Share : 41,490 Views 1,576 Shares
(You don't have to make a contribution to Sign this Petition!)
Please Sign this petition for a Referendum on Housing (and share) if you agree that:-
"All Irish (EU) citizens should be able to afford to OWN their own home or rent at affordable rates, on average incomes, in their own country."
No one can solve the Housing Crisis until this Referendum is passed asap.
Defective Irish Constitution
The Irish Constitution gives priority to property rights. Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) of land is only supported by the Constitution for the "common good" like ESB pylons, dangerous road bends, the construction of the Luas, bus corridors etc. The Constitution does not include the CPO purchase of land (at agricultural price) by Local Authorities for homes as a "common good" - like other countries.
A Referendum on Housing is essential to fix this.
The defective Irish Constitution has led to:-
- The "Locked Out Generation": No Affordable Homes within the ownership reach of those on average incomes (€35,000 pa)
- Rack Rents: "Renters forced to pay other people's mortgages and trapped by the Central Bank's unfair deposit rules - unable to save for a deposit."
- Evicted Homeless: "The Final Fallout of a defective Constitution"
A Referendum on housing/land was first proposed in 1974 and again in 2014 by the Constitutional Convention. A Referendum would have prevented the 2008 housing CRASH and will prevent the next one. The badly defective Irish Constitution must be fixed urgently to solve housing.
No housing crash occurred in France, Germany … etc due to their well developed Constitutions.
Germany: A particular property interest is ONLY protected in law to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity (need for shelter / housing) and self-governance.
France: The Local Authority can CPO land on the periphery of villages, towns and cities at agricultural prices and make it available at cost to individuals, builders or for social housing.
A Referendum will trigger all the necessary changes in legislation to remove all the barriers and provide all the enablers to deliver affordable home ownership in Ireland for future kids.
Please share this Petition link to get this most important Referendum DONE!
-------------- Reference Support Material ---------------
Central Bank rules are biased against Irish Citizens.
The Central Bank is acting against the legitimate interests of Irish citizens to own their own homes, with mortgage rules that don’t apply to Investment Funds OR Local Authorities who can buy up homes without such restrictions and exclude Irish citizens.
The Central Bank should be supporting citizens and pressing for low cost affordable homes, to avoid the inflated reckless mortgages currently required to purchase homes in Ireland. Irish homes are significantly overvalued which can mean only one thing .. another Crash and negative equity once again.
Amendment:
Germany's Constitution is a good benchmark, as are others, for an amendment. More than 80 countries around the world provide a right to housing in their Constitutions.
German constitutional law treats property as a derivative, or instrumental, value in the general constitutional scheme. It strongly protects a particular property interest ONLY to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity (need for shelter / housing) and self-governance.
This provision does not adversely impact on Germany's general property rights.
--------------------------------------------
The root cause of the Irish Housing Crisis is "COST of BUILD" (mainly land costs) - not "Supply" which is only a symptom. A Referendum on housing is essential to fix this.
What a Change in the Irish Constitution would mean in practice:-
- Lower "Cost of Build" due mainly to lower land costs- This is the root cause of the supply shortage.
- Lower "Barrier to Entry" for individuals and small and medium builders who could deliver 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 house projects because of reduced funding requirements and so increase competition to deliver lower house prices.
- No VAT tax (€28,000 ) on new houses (basic need in the hierarchy of needs) like EU, UK & NI and all advanced democracies. You can't tax basic needs like food, shelter, healthcare etc...!
- "MaxTax" Taxpayers who earn just €35,300 pa will no longer be excluded from home ownership while at the same time paying to fund HAP and social homes - very wrong.
- No Central Bank rules forcing Rental (paying the mortgages of others) v Ownership leading to artificially inflated house prices and reckless inflated mortgages with certain crash outcome. Referendum recommended in 1974 by Kenny Report would have prevented the 2008 crash. A Referendum is essential to prevent the next crash.
- First Refusal to Local Authorities for building land in and adjacent to urban centres at agricultural price + 25%.
- Lower energy and lower infrastructural costs (water, waste, roads, electricity, broadband, school transport, etc ...) by LA urban extensions.
- Farmstead only homes in rural areas.
- CPO - Compulsory Purchase of Land for housing like compulsory purchase of land for road widening .... common good trumps private enrichment at the expense of the community.
- No evictions by landlords on sale or upgrade of rented family homes. Compensation where vacation is upheld by the courts, like other civilised societies.
- No sale of bulk mortgages to vulture funds. Occupier (Family First) gets first refusal to purchase the mortgage.
- Only charge on a loan/mortgage is the asset - like US Law. You can hand back the keys - US law has "Equality of Risk Sharing" between lender and borrower - No Debt 'till Death by EU Banks (legacy from 12th century European serf laws).
- Mortgages based on "last selling price" + CPI (Scotland). No housing bubbles.
- No Boarded-up or vacant houses : Private or Social.
- No Tax on "Life Essentials" like food, water, shelter (Homes), clothing, Education, Healthcare, personal transport (work access)
- No Part 5 €5000 tax for social housing on first time buyers - regressive tax burden on first time buyers, excluding them from home ownership.
- No council levy of €10,000 on first time buyers? - regressive tax burden on first time buyers excluding them from home ownership.
- No LPT (property tax) tax on Family Homes (shelter) like Italy. Shelter is a "Life Essential". No tax on basic needs.
No 2-Tier LPT Tax on home owner Families like no LPT on families in State provided homes
- No hoarding of land to restrict supply to inflate price of land
- No restricted zoning laws to restrict supply of land to inflate profits for owners
- No "subjective", non-safety, cost inflating Planner stipulations.
- No cost inflating, non-safety, building Regs adding €10K recently to price of homes
- No ban on Bed-Sits which are essential for some in society.
- Rent certainty .. linked to CPI.
- Holiday Home Tax: Annual wealth tax on non residential homes such as second homes. Family homes are not wealth as they cannot generate an income stream or be disposed of as an asset - no where to live.
- No inheritance tax on Family Homes - shelter cannot be taxed like Sweden and other developed societies.
€76,000 (37%) is artificially added (mainly by Gov tax) to the price of a basic Irish House. Obscene.
-------------- . ---------------
"Essential to Life" - "Hierarchy of Needs"
Family Homes are a basic need (Shelter) in the "Hierarchy of Needs" and "Essential to Life", like food, water, clothing, personal transport, healthcare, education .. etc.
Basic human needs should not be taxed or placed outside the 'ownership' reach of ordinary citizens through market manipulation or Government regulations, which is the case with family homes (shelter) in Ireland.
-------------- . ---------------
Rent Trap
One signatory of the petition said "As a young person on average income I can’t get a mortgage to buy my own home but it’s ok for me to pay rent to pay some one else’s mortgage .... why am I forced to work for this person and increase HIS/HER wealth?"
-------------- . ---------------
Locked Out Generation
Another signatory of the petition said "As a young person on an average income of €35,300 p.a. I am forced to pay MaxTax of 40% to fund HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) and social housing, while 'prevented' from access to owning my own affordable home ...."
------------- . ---------------
Central Bank anti Irish Rules
Another signatory of the petition said "As a first time buyer the Irish Central Bank places a demand on me of €26,000 deposit (10%) for a basic starter home in Ireland, which is impossible to save while paying exorbitant rent. Yet 'vulture funds' and Local Authorities can buy up homes without this restriction. The Central Bank's actions are acting against ordinary citizens rightful expectation to share in the wealth created by them within the state.
Charities for Housing!!!
Fr Peter McVerry and David Hall stated that a minimum of 30 of the Irish Dáil’s 158 TDs (Reps) are receiving private rental income from properties they own — including some in the Irish Cabinet. This clearly presents a potential for conflict of interest when enacting laws relating to housing and acts against ordinary citizen's rightful expectations to home ownership.
=================================
Root Cause of the Irish Housing Crisis
The root cause of the Irish Housing Crisis is "Cost of Build" - not "Supply" which is only a symptom.
Because the Irish Constitution is defective and does not give special status to Family Homes, they are subject to taxation and levies (by the State itself!), treated as commodities which gives rise to the basic inputs, such as land, planning permission, legal and other regulations etc. being manipulated by vested interests (incl. Government for taxes and levies) at the expense of citizens, causing excessive house prices and locking out a generation of young people from home ownership with all its destructive long term consequences. This is why the Constitution must be amended urgently by a REFERENDUM, to protect the right of citizens to own their own homes in their own country.
-------------- . ---------------
Irish House prices 'artificially' inflated by 37%
Government Taxes on new Irish homes inflate the Cost of Build by 37%. VAT tax, alone, adds €28,000 to the price of new homes in Ireland. There is no VAT on homes (shelter) in other EU countries or the UK ... These Irish Government taxes and levies make basic houses unaffordable for ordinary average income earners. These artificially inflated house costs (due to Gov taxes) favour the Landlord Class and Vulture Funds who can off-set these high tax costs with tax breaks not available to the ordinary citizen.
Artificially inflated costs also favour big builders and squeeze out small builders due to onerous funding requirements for smaller, 2 to 10 home projects.
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Ireland v France - basic house price
Beziers, France: Starter Homes €160,000 (same size as Cork!)
Cork, Ireland : Starter Homes €230,000
- €70,000 more expensive in Ireland - WHY? - defective Constitution.
Those on €35,000 pa pay the MaxTax of 40% to fund social homes and HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) but cannot afford to own their own homes due to the inflated Cost of build in Ireland.
The MaxTax threshold in France is €76,000.
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Irish Billionaire Financier - Dermot Desmond
Dermot Desmond the Irish Billionaire Financier supports this Petition's objective.
He stated that "All Irish citizens should be able to afford their own home on average incomes in their own country"
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Judge Gerald Keys - Ireland an Unjust Society
Irish Judge Gerald Keys “When I became a judge, I swore to apply the law. I may not like it or agree with it it and it may be unjust to me, but it is the law. It can only be changed by the people through their public representatives, but I am now being put in a position where I have to make orders that will make people homeless and I do not like that one bit.”
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How Germany achieved a stable and affordable housing market – in its Constitution.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/06/how-germany-achieved-stable-and-affordable-housing.html
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The Irish Times newspaper summarised the Kenny Report lack of progress since 1974.
Quote: "Successive Irish governments and attorneys general would appear to have hidden behind a conservative interpretation of these (Constitutional) articles and there have been many calls for a referendum (since 1974!) to ensure the balance would always be weighted more towards the common good."
The fact that Ireland has had 38 Referenda to amend it's Constitution and this most basic Housing Referendum remains undone since 1974 tells the real story of power in Ireland which clearly is not in the hands of its citizens. Looks like we will again have to depend on an EU directive to fix our broken State.
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Dr Rory Hearne states:
The Housing for All plan must include, therefore, a clear commitment to hold a referendum to insert the right to housing in the Constitution, early in 2022.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/arid-40344152.html
Housing can no longer be left to the vagaries and inequalities of the private speculative market. Policy must dispense with its obsession with fixing the ‘property market’, creating a ‘property ladder’, boosting house prices and rents etc.
The priority of policy must be to ensure the access to, and delivery of, affordable, secure, decent quality housing for all. It must make policy in the interests of citizens, not investors.
The private property ‘rights’ of landlords and landowners must be balanced with a right to a home, in order to progress legislation that will provide for strong tenants’ rights, taxing vacant property and compulsory purchase of derelict housing and sites.
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Your Obligation as a Voters
"It is your duty as a citizen, to vote and to bring your brains to the Polling Booths, to bring about the change needed to deliver a fair and just Irish society."
Call for Referendum in Dail https://twitter.com/i/status/1313521775687405568
Do not vote for "Fake TDs" : Ask "will you vote in the Dail for me or the Party Whip?"
Lorcan Sirr (DIT) stated that 'Vulture Funds were NOT essential to revive the Irish Housing Market', as claimed by some Political Parties. Their absence would have led to a drop in land prices, allowing the entry of many small, SME and large builders due to much reduced funding requirements. This in turn would have dramatically increased supply and deliver lower 'affordable' house prices, while still making a profit.
Small and Medium sized builders are currently locked out of Housing supply, due to the many artificial barriers which can only be removed by a Referendum.
======== NEWS FLASH! =============
David McWilliams (Economist who predicted the 2008 CRASH! said
“The Irish housing market is a scam".
that Ireland is in need of a 'buyers strike' - to show that "we're not going to play this game". He has branded the current housing market "bonkers" and "crazy".
Taxpayers who pay €3/4 Billion every year to landlords (gifted to them by YOUR TD) in HAP subsidies (Housing Assistance Payments) need to consider a similar strike! Taxpayers need to bring their brains to the Polling Booths!
The same taxpayers are "Locked Out" of their own home ownership - daft!
The Government has no money - it belongs to you the hard working taxpayer - Vote to ensure it is used for your benefit and not vested interests.
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News Flash! EU Parliament voted today (21/01/2021):-
- Housing costs should be kept affordable by law !!!!
- Access to adequate housing should be a fundamental European right.
- Call for an EU-wide goal to end homelessness by 2030
- Access to affordable housing as an enforceable human right.
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Irish Constitutional Convention - 2014
In 2014, the Irish Constitutional Convention –a body comprised of 100 randomly selected members of the public to consider future Constitutional reforms, recommended the inclusion of legally enforceable socio-economic rights in the Constitution, including the right to housing. This recommendation formed the basis of the 2017 Right to Housing Bill, which sought to insert a right to housing into the Irish Constitution by amendment to Article 43. The Bill was defeated in the Dáil by your 'elected' TDs but referred for further consideration to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.
To date, the Committee has not considered the provisions of the Bill.
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"Locked Out Generation" - Young people abused by the Irish Tax system
Young people who earn the average income of €35,300 p.a. are on MaxTax of 40% to fund HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) and social housing but are unable to afford to own their own homes. It is so important to Vote intelligently or else continue to be abused.
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German Constitution
How Germany achieved a stable functioning affordable housing system - by its Constitutional provision on Housing - Family Homes.
How Germany achieved stable & affordable housing for ALL groups in German society.
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Fake TDs
It is essential that all voters bring their brains to the Polling Booths, particularly young people and their PARENTS and GRANDPARENTS, and do not vote for "Fake TDs" who have no interest in reforming the unfair and unjust laws which have led to the "Locked Out Generation". "Fake TD" take their instructions from party hierarchy under the 'Whip system' who pursue the interests of lobby groups and vested interest groups and not those of the Voters.
Do not vote for "Fake TDs" : Ask "will you vote in the Dail for me or the Party Whip?"
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"Home for Good" Initiative
https://www.homeforgood.ie/assets/files/pdf/making_the_case_for_a_right_to_housing_in_ireland.pdf
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Typical Irish home build costs.
Amount per Unit:
Site Cost € 50,000 .... daft .. Agricultural land is €9,000 per acre!
Build Cost @ €100 per square foot, Size Average 1,100 = €110,000 .. new technology needed to drive down this daft cost. Factory production modular building like cars, TVs, furniture etc required and allowed by Planning System.
Roads & Infrastructure € 15,000
Utility Connections € 2,000
Legal Fees on Acquisition and Disposal, Marketing, Estate Agency Fees. € 6,000 ... self conveyancing law needed.
Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Consultants, Homebond and Stamp Duty. € 2,500 ... tax on life essentials unacceptable.
Part V Contributions to social housing € 5,000 ... should be from general progressive taxation.
Council Levies € 10,000 ?
Cost of Finance € 7,500
Total Costs €208,000
VAT @ 13.5% € 28,080
Sale Price €236,080
The equivalent French starter home is €160,000.
€76,000 ARTIFICIALLY added (mainly by Gov tax/levies) to price of basic Irish House. Obscene.
Essential need for "Family Home Special Status" provision in the Irish Constitution.
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Proposed FAMILY HOME LEGAL DEFINITION in the Irish Constitution:-
A Family Home is a basic need in the hierarchy of needs (shelter) and essential to life. All EU Family Homes should be Constitutionally protected to reflect this special status and provide a fundamental distinction from general property rights, superior to them, to ensure legislation is consistent with delivering “1-average-income” affordable homes for all groups in society (both private & social), without adversely affecting general property rights.
The German Constitution makes this distinction but it is absent from the Irish Constitution which is flawed and needs to be urgently upgraded.
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How Germany achieved stable & affordable housing for ALL groups in German society:
Germany has some distinct features that enables it to provide a plentiful supply of housing in response to increasing demand.
First and foremost, the German constitution contains an explicit ‘right-to-build’ clause …this “means that everyone is entitled to a permission to build on his or her property as long as there is no explicit legal rule against it.
…if the proposed building fits into the plan, permission has to be granted and if the local authorities deny it then a court will enforce it…
Although there is very close control of what can be built on any site, provided it meets the requirements of the master plan, a developer just can get on and build new housing without seeking development permission.
how-germany-achieved-stable-affordable-housing
The German court distinguishes between those property interests whose function is primarily or even exclusively economic, especially wealth-creating, and those that primarily serve a non-economic interest relating to the owner’s status as a moral and/or political agent - homes.
Only the latter are protected as fundamental constitutional interests.
Stated yet another way, German constitutional law treats property as a derivative, or instrumental, value in the general constitutional scheme. It strongly protects a particular property interest only to the extent that the interest immediately serves other, primary constitutional values, in particular, human dignity and self-governance.
Essential need for "Family Home Special Status" provision in the Irish Constitution.
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EU - European Pillar of Social Rights considers housing in its deliberations
Situation in the Member States
Directly enforceable rights to housing exist in a few Member States only, although provisions on the protection of the home appear in most national constitutions. Housing markets, regulations and support forms are very different but only a few Member States have a large social housing sector. Some forms of emergency accommodation are provided in each Member State, with usually separate mechanisms for asylum-seekers and refugees.
Significant differences exist across the EU in terms of shelter quality, coverage, capacity and support services. Homelessness has increased during the last decade in almost all EU countries and prolonged or recurrent shelter stays are common, yet only about half of the Member States implement integrated homelessness strategies. Shelter needs are especially high in countries receiving many migrants and/or refugees.
International dimensions
Various international provisions related to the right to housing and access to shelter apply e.g. the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; The Council of Europe’s European Social Charter and Revised Charter4 , the European Convention on Human Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention.5
The United Nation's sustainable development goals promote access to basic services and adequate, safe housing.
Russell Brand on Why You Will Own Nothing including a Home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTPzFSx6oI
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The Irish Petition on Unfair 2-Tier Motor Tax at 38,000
You can sign this petition at :- www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law
************** A Social Media Experiment *************
This petition is my social media experiment, to determine if ordinary citizens can initiate social / economic / tax changes by shifting voting patterns to eliminate gross unfairness and injustice in current laws for the benefit of ordinary hard working Irish (and EU) citizens, "who get up early in the morning", in which, clearly, their elected Fake TDs are not interested and couldn't care less.
The petition objective is :-
to inform and enlighten voters of grossly unfair and unjust laws passed by your TDs, so that voters will in future bring their brains to the polling booths and shift their voting pattern to force political change to right the wrongs in the current Irish Laws (i.e Housing, Health, Motor Tax, LPT, VAT on new homes ...etc) and to establish the Canons of Taxation as the accepted framework for fair and just taxation policy.
to empower themselves as taxpayers and to Refuse to be Abused.
The Government has no money - it belongs to you the hard working taxpayer - demand that it is used for your benefit and not vested interests.
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Power of Petitions
Online Petitions are a powerful mechanism for change. While they rarely get response from the decision makers who are embedded in vested interest administrations, they can influence Voters by being constantly in view, unlike TV or newspaper articles or other media which have fleeting impact. A very small shift in Voter pattern can be sufficient to change Governments who don't address the unfairness and injustice of existing laws and policies.
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The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 15 May 2016