The head of Sinn Féin has called reports that foreign students are being pressed for sex in exchange for free lodging “definitely a new low,” reports Breaking News.
It comes after 5% of female respondents to a poll conducted by the Irish Council of International Students stated that they had either seen an advertisement for a room in return for sex or received an offer to rent a place in Ireland in exchange for sex.
The poll was completed by 512 participants from 64 countries, reports Breaking News.
During Wednesday’s Leaders’ Questions, Mary Lou McDonald brought up the study, stating that the government’s housing plan is “in freefall.”
She said: “The Government has this scattered, frantic, directionless approach where it is talking about everything but dealing with nothing,” reports Breaking News.
A government proposal to “relax planning rules to allow people to build cabins in the bottom of their gardens” was also questioned by Ms. McDonald.
The government is thinking about easing restrictions on rear property additions.
The Government Program promised to look into exclusions that permit the construction of 40-square-meter additions to a primary house’s back. Planning authorisation is required for anything larger than 40 square meters, reports Breaking News.
According to the revised plan, the residences might be constructed anywhere at the back of the structure, enabling standalone “cabins.”
According to John Cummins, Minister of State for Planning, this may be a “practical and common-sense” choice that might work for some people in specific situations, including young adults who choose to live apart from the main family home.
“To cast this up as the solution to the housing crisis simply highlights just how broken and how failed the Government’s response to the housing crisis is,” Ms. McDonald stated, admitting the need for “greater flexibility,” reports Breaking News.
Mr. Cummins has made it clear that he does not view the action as a “panacea” for the housing issue.
Taoiseach Michael Martin responded to Ms. McDonald by stating that housing had advanced since 2020, reports Breaking News.
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