Childcare, education, healthcare and public transport are the main focus for Government departments looking for ways to reduce the cost of living for households ahead of the October 2022 budget.
What’s more, there is pressure to increase Cost Rental and Affordable Housing schemes. Cost rental is a relatively new form of tenure in Ireland where residents pay rents that are solely based on the cost to build, manage, and maintain the homes.
In Budget 2022, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, allocated €70 million to develop 700 Cost Rental homes, to be delivered by Approved Housing Bodies through the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) mechanism.
O’Brien said that a pipeline of Cost Rental housing is building up and more developments are due to come on stream shortly: “These developments will provide people with secure, affordable rental accommodation, and, as we deliver at scale, will help make Ireland’s housing market more affordable overall.”
Although public transport fares were reduced recently, these could be extended into 2023 and beyond.
New Government proposals in the works will look at universal childcare subsidies for parents as well as fees for college education. These are seen to be costly, particularly for students from rural Ireland who cannot live at home.
The proposals will also look at extending the GP visit card, and reducing hospital charges. The cost of medication will be discussed too.