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The panel on last night’s Tonight with Vincent Browne

Last night.

On TV3’s Tonight with Vincent Browne, presented by Newstalk’s Sarah McInerney.

The panel included Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy, Labour TD Jan O’Sullivan, postdoctoral researcher at Maynooth University Dr Rory Hearne and Irish Independent columnist Colette Browne.

At the beginning of the show, Dr Hearne repeated his claim that the State is over reliant on the private sector to provide social and affordable housing.

It followed an interview Dr Hearne did on RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke yesterday morning and an opinion article he wrote for yesterday’s The Irish Times, headlined Why Government response to housing crisis has failed.

Last night, Dr Hearne said:

“Last year, Rebuilding Ireland set out to build 2,000 new social housing units by local authorities, only 650 were built. We had 1,000 rapid units promised to be delivered for the families in hotels who are homeless. Only 150 are going to be built by the end of this year.”

“…They [The Government] are not willing, I think, to stand up to the property interests, the developer interests, the financial interests, the vulture funds. They don’t want the Government to provide a much greater amount of supply of affordable and social housing.

“I think, they’ve been bought over by this idea, they’ve been captured by this idea that you have to encourage the private sector to build. The private sector isn’t building…

“The private market has shown it doesn’t work. The State has to provide housing but the Government seems to be ideologically captured by this, they don’t believe in social housing, they don’t want affordable housing, they seem to just want to follow that private market model. And I think that’s the reason why we’re in this crisis.

Following this…

Colm Brophy: “Well listen, I mean, a lot of what Rory said there was just either palpably ignorant of what the Government is actually doing, it’s either ideologically derived and I don’t say that with any pleasure but it really…”

Colette Browne: “What facts, what facts that Rory mentioned do you disagree with?”

Brophy: “Sorry, can I just, listen, there’s one of me here now so I’ll, I’ll just, there is no question, it is completely wrong to say that the Government doesn’t want to provide social housing, that the Government doesn’t want to provide housing, that the Government is somehow involved, and I heard you earlier on, in a couple of media interviews where you nearly have this hard-left, conspiratorial view that, somehow or other, there is some divine right that everything should be done by the public sector and if you advocate any other way or approach to it, that you’re involved in some type of conspiracy with venture funds and banks and everything else like that.”

Hearne: “I never said that.”

Talk over each other

Brophy: “No, the fact, no but I’m saying you seem to be coming from this type of view, that the only solution is the one you look at and advocate. Now let’s look actually at what is happening and what is being done. This Government came in, Simon Coveney took on a ministry for housing, it was especially created to recognise the importance of the problem which was there. There’s a commitment for €5.3billion to be made available by this Government to provide social housing. Now that’s between now and 2021.”

“The thing people always want to overlook and they think, I just, I don’t know why people don’t get this: you can’t wave a magic wand and make houses appear…”

Sarah McInerney: “No, ok, ok but hold on, hold on, hold Colm, you’ve made a number of charges against Rory there, ideological charges there, etc. But let’s just stick with the figures for a second. Because Rory made a number of different points but one of the things he talked about was figures and that’s not factually incorrect or not factually incorrect, it’s just the figures as we know them and one of those figures is that there were 650 new social housing builds in 2016, instead of the 2,200 that were planned.”

Brophy: “But, again, it’s all…”

McInerney: “Now the Government told us they were going to happen, they didn’t happen. They told us they could wave that wand, that we would get those houses…”

Brophy: “No they didn’t…”

McInerney: “Well, we were told that they were getting 2,200 and we got 660, so what happened there?”

Brophy: “What the Government has said very clearly is that there’s a mixture, which certain people don’t like, I mean I was on the original Dail housing committee, so I’m familiar, I’ve heard all the hard-left arguments before of…”

McInerney: “Ok, forget ideology for a second…”

Brophy: “No, no…”

McInerney: “Because I’m just asking you about the facts. I’m asking you about the target that you set yourselves that you failed to reach. Why did you not reach it, is what I’m asking.”

Brophy: “If you actually look at it, and by the way, just to clarify another point, the money problem is not there, the [inaudible] is the supply problem…”

Watch back in full here

Previously: Whose Interests Are Dictating Our Housing Policy

‘They’re Loud And They’re Growing’

Meanwhile…

Free next Saturday, June 17?

Inner City Helping Homelessness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlUwEXpsGyw

Earlier today.

Members of the UK Labour Party in Dublin and supporters met at the James Connolly statue in Dublin city to call on Irish people living in the UK to vote Labour.

Brendan Howlin (out of picture).

Dan O’Neill writes:

We are here to call on Irish people living in the UK to turn out and vote Labour tomorrow.

For years now the UK has witnessed the Tories closing libraries, maternity and accident and emergency departments, mental health facilities, women’s refuges, services for people with disabilities and nurseries. And yet tax cuts keep coming for the rich.

The Conservatives have created division at every opportunity — the division that led to Brexit, and has driven a wedge between our two islands.

The Conservative Party’s reckless handling of Brexit has not just undermined the future wellbeing of the UK economy, but it has also greatly jeopardised the wellbeing of the Irish economy. Their willingness to play political games with the day-to-day lives of people on both sides of the Irish Sea is, frankly, unforgivable.

The UK Labour Party calls for a society which puts everyone first, rather than putting the interests of the wealthy above all else. One in which workers enjoy some security rather than being forced onto zero-hour contracts; one which protects the right of those at work to have their say in their workplace.

We support the UK Labour Party and urge our Irish friends living and working in the UK to do the same.

Thanks Dan

Meanwhile…

Double Down News writes:

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell takes on the mainstream media, fake news and Theresa May in this election eve rundown.

FIGHT!

Want to be on the telly?

Broadsheet on the Telly UK Election Special screens tomorrow, Thursday, at 11.45pm.

Join a panel of your peers as they chew over the results as POLLS close across Britain. Plus OTHER Matters will be discussed.

If you are living in the UK, boast a decent broadband connection and would like to say ‘hello’ to Ma add your voice please send an email to broadsheet@broadsheet.ie marked ‘Broadsheet on the Telly’.

Thanks all.

Previously: Broadsheet on the Telly on Broadsheet

Last week, with a Golden Discs voucher worth Twenty Five euro on offer,  we asked you to choose a cover of a Beatles song that improves on the original.

You entered in your Beatlemaniacal dozens.

But there could be only one winner.

In reverse order then…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-blaYP-0Ug

Kermit and Robin – Octopus’s Garden

Daily Chainsaw writes:

Why? It’s the Mupppets, you muppet!

Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison and Prince – While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Leopold Gloom writes:

From 3.30 on Prince takes over…There are times when the others on stage don’t look as if they can believe what he is doing, and what he is capable of. In those few minutes he snatched the solo from Clapton’s bigoted hands and made it his own. A masterpiece of a song, improved by a genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIYQr-a0ktA

Ramsey lewis – Cry Baby Cry

f_lawless writes:

A real slce of funky moogy coolness! Great arrangement and production by Charles Stepney. It’s off a covers album of White Album tracks – loads more gems on it – made all the more impressive considering Lewis recorded the album (called “Mother Nature’s Son) just a few weeks after the White Album was released…

Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends

Cool Hand Lucan writes:

Because it’s soulful, clawing, desperate and despite Joe Cocker’s appearance, it’s a damn sexy tune.

Dangermouse and Jay z – Long, Long , Long/Public Service Announcement

Baron Von Botter

Not strictly a cover, but DJ Dangermouse’s meshing of The White Album’s Long, Long, Long and Jay Z’s Public Service Announcement from his Black Album highlights the quality of this generally overlooked track. Supposedly a hymn to Harrison’s spirituality, Dangermouse somehow manages to make Jay Z recollecting his coke dealing days (“I used to move snowflakes by the O-Z”) fit like a glove.

Aimee Mann and Michael Penn – Two Of Us

Bertie Blenkinsop writes:

She’s class…It’s a good album (I Am Sam soundtrack] actually

Winner:

The Cure (featuring James McCartney) – Hello Goodbye

Harry writes:

a glorious joyous version,most importantly the always wonderful Robert Smith gave it a straightforward treatment respecting the original song, watch out for Macca’s son playing keyboards!

Thanks all

Golden Discs

Last week: Better Than The Beatles

From the Dáil plinth this afternoon.

Fianna Fáil Mícheál Martin addresses journalists after he held a meeting with the new leader of Fine Gael Leo Varadkar.

Pic: Martina Fitzgerald