LITTLE PROGRESS BEING MADE BY GOVERNMENT

Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin has said the Government’s latest progress report shows how little progress is being made.

“The progress report published today shows how little progress this Government is actually making. Rather than providing some detail on the commitments which have been delivered, we have a set of bullet points which treat the creation of a review, or the action for a private company as events the Government can claim credit for.

“In one instance, the publication by a Task Force of a work plan for the year is noted as an achievement. If any Task Force didn’t have a work plan for the year, there would hardly be much point in it existing.

“The creation of task forces, assessments, reviews, committees, reports, steering groups, action plans, and assemblies do not constitute meaningful Government action.

“In a whole range of areas the Government is taking credit for spending money – even where the amounts allocated are identical to allocations in previous years. How these represent any sort of achievement is beyond me.

“This whole document is a list of half-baked reports and action plans that are nowhere near completion. Meanwhile, the strategy for the rental sector is driving rents up outside of rental pressure zones in Limerick, Waterford and Drogheda. The Help-to-Buy scheme is pricing young people who want to buy a home out of the market. And we have even seen massive delays to priority schemes, such as the Affordable Childcare Scheme that was so heavily promoted at Budget time.

“Given the paucity of actual achievement on display, it’s probably no surprise that the Government has sought to bury this on a quiet Good Friday. They would be better off shelving any future reports until they have some actual progress to report on.”