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Tomorrow marks 100 days since the administration of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party took office as Ireland grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. What were the promises of the coalition and has it fulfilled its commitments?
accommodation
When the new administration was formed, housing was high on the agenda.
There were major commitments in the Government Program on social housing, rental reform and home ownership over the next five years.
The document promised to provide more than 50,000 additional social homes.
He also pledged to provide affordable worker housing and to implement the Affordable Purchase Plan on state-owned land.
There were also significant promises for those in the rental market. The Government Program said it would improve the supply and affordability of rental accommodation.
One hundred days after the mandate of the new Government and it is clear that the pandemic has affected those plans.
The proposal to build 11,000 social housing this year has been reduced to 9,000 due to Covid-19.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has acknowledged that the virus has posed “a serious challenge for the construction sector.”
One of the first problems Minister O’Brien had to deal with was the blanket rent freeze and eviction ban introduced by the previous government when the virus first arrived in Ireland.
The new management replaced emergency tenant protections, introducing new legislation that protected tenants who can prove their income has been affected by the pandemic, but the normal process applies to everyone else.
It has been criticized by Opposition TDs who claimed it stripped most tenants of any protection against evictions and rent increases.
An Affordable Home Buying Plan, aimed at getting people up the property ladder, would be launched in September, but it hasn’t happened yet.
The minister says he will announce details of the plan in the fall.
He wants the Affordable Housing Plan, which is in the Government Program, to be introduced as part of the 2021 Budget.
Housing will be one of the key elements in this month’s budget. With immense pressure on public finances due to the pandemic, the minister will hope to obtain sufficient funds to fulfill the promises outlined in the Government Program.
Climate change
Tomorrow is the deadline the new administration had set to publish climate action legislation.
Concerns about Covid-19 may have pushed concerns about global warming to the back of some people’s minds, but the problem hasn’t gone away.
The 2020 Climate Action Bill, promised in the Government Program, is expected to be published on Tuesday next week, seven days before the October 13 Budget.
The heads of the bill that will establish the 2050 carbon neutrality target in law were approved by the Cabinet last week.
It will provide for the establishment of five-year “carbon budgets” that will establish a general cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposed legislation will establish a roadmap of oversight and accountability structures to reduce emissions each year.
It must be discussed by the Oireachtas Climate Committee before being discussed in the Dáil.
Under the new regulations, the Climate Change Advisory Council will be strengthened and will be called the Climate Action Council, which will propose a general carbon budget.
The ministers will be responsible for executing the action in each of their sectors.
Passage of the bill will be a test of how united government parties are in the face of concerns that arise about the impact of emissions targets in areas such as agriculture and the auto industry.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said he hopes the bill will pass through the Oireachtas and become law before Christmas in time for the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, some in government parties have raised concerns about the risk that the bill will be rushed into the Oireachtas.
A government TD said the bill contains significant changes for households and businesses and the coalition must get it right.
Another acknowledged that the approval of the bill by the Oireachtas Chambers is unlikely to be “straightforward”, but many TDs agreed that a political consensus can be reached if there is the will to tackle climate change.
Health
As the healthcare system responds to Covid-19 surges across the country, many other areas of healthcare have been overlooked in recent months.
The implementation of Sláintecare was a key priority in the Government Program.
The document also promised to extend medical cards to the terminally ill, extend free medical care to more children, and limit parking costs at hospitals.
He said that significant work will be done for women’s health, mental health and drug treatment policy.
One hundred days later and many of those plans have been frozen as the Government and HSE grapple with the pandemic.
The restrictions resulted in growing waiting lists that could cause long-term problems for the new administration.
National screening services were stopped when the virus peaked and now face a considerable delay.
The problems that existed before Covid-19 have not disappeared and, if anything, have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Last month about 600 million euros were announced for the health service in the Winter Plan.
HSE promised hundreds of additional hospital beds as part of the plan, along with hiring additional hospital staff.
It also promised to carry out 20,000 additional operations.
This winter is likely to be like no other: many observers wonder if the government can deliver on what it has promised.
Brexi
A lot of political capital has been spent on the pandemic, but waiting behind the scenes is the prospect of a Brexit without a damaging trade deal.
There has been concern in government circles that some have overlooked the potential impacts of an abrupt exit of the UK from the EU.
Now ministers are interested in refocusing attention on Brexit preparations.
The Government Program states that “the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is a key priority”.
The Protocol aims to protect the Good Friday Agreement, North / South cooperation and the economy of all the islands.
It would also avoid a rigid border on the island of Ireland, while preserving the integrity of the EU single market and Ireland’s place in it.
However, Britain’s Internal Market Act has threatened to undermine the protocol.
The proposed legislation gives British ministers the power to “waive” the rules for goods traveling from Britain to Northern Ireland, which had previously been agreed with the EU.
The European Union says the bill would “flagrantly violate” the protocol and has now prompted legal action.
The October 31 deadline for reaching a free trade agreement is fast approaching, but the EU will not accept one unless the clauses of the internal market bill have been removed.
If the EU and UK fail to reach an agreement, the World Trade Organization rules would be used and have a detrimental impact on Irish exports with a sharp increase in tariffs.
A no-deal Brexit and a global pandemic in the space of 12 months could be catastrophic for the Irish economy and the Government hopes it can be avoided.
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