Cork City - anti social behaviour etc... what's being done?

I wonder who has the contract for the new kitchens and what happens the perfectly good kitchens that are taken out?

For giggles, I asked ChatGPT this... just to see what the general impression is, after the general knowledge of the internet is churned through an AI.

What are some steps to reduce a shortage in housing at a national level?

This was the response, items 2 and 6 are relevant to my point in Cork, and this discussion.

Here are some steps that could be taken to reduce the shortage of housing at a national level:

1. Increase funding for affordable housing: One of the main causes of the housing shortage is the lack of affordable housing options. Increasing funding for affordable housing programs, such as a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, can help to create more affordable housing units.
2. Streamline the regulatory process: The process of obtaining permits and approvals for housing development can be time-consuming and costly. Streamlining this process can help to reduce the cost of construction and make it easier to build new housing units.
3. Provide incentives for developers: Providing tax incentives or other benefits for developers who build affordable housing units can help to encourage the construction of new housing units.
4. Implement inclusionary zoning policies: Inclusionary zoning policies require developers to set aside a certain percentage of housing units for low-income residents. This can help to increase the supply of affordable housing in areas where it is needed most.
5. Increase funding for housing vouchers: Housing vouchers provide low-income families with rental assistance, making it easier for them to afford housing. Increasing funding for housing vouchers can help to reduce the number of people who are experiencing homelessness or living in overcrowded or unsafe housing.
6. Encourage mixed-use developments: Mixed-use developments that combine residential and commercial spaces can help to increase the supply of housing units in areas where space is limited. These developments can also help to create more vibrant and walkable communities.

Does this explain my point better? Or are you still unconvinced, and think nothing at all can be improved, the system is super-duper-perfect as is?

building regulations are national not local

at no point have i said the system is perfect. i have said that it can be worked with relatively easily and blaming the council/fire officer etc is an easy out despite usually not being the problem

i also agree that mixed use development is to be encouraged. accessing your property via someone else's property in the way you described however is not to be encouraged. potentially very unsafe conversion of units is also not to be encouraged even if it would provide housing

The issue isn't the supposedly "liberal leftie" government but the fact that Ireland, as a nation and a society, is pathologically unable to see any plan through to its logical conclusion, plan ahead, or is willing to put its money where its mouth is! This is independent of whichever political flavor you look at. You've got people calling for a hardline approach to antisocial behavior, but at the same time unwilling to spend even a single cent for the required increase in the number of gardaí, the necessary equipment, or the increase in prison space that would need to go along with such a hardline approach. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got people who advocate for a softie-softie approach focusing on rehabilitation and education, yet those very same voices will decry any tax increase to fund those measures and will often even be unwilling to accept rehab facilities or injection rooms within even the same time zone as their home.

This goes beyond law enforcement. It affects defense, infrastructure, education, the healthcare system. There is a consistent inability to bring any project through to its conclusion, or to even give it the proper funding. Ireland wants to be neutral but is unwilling to invest in a military strong enough to enforce that neutrality if needed. It wants to move to an NHS style system but is unwilling to take the necessary drastic steps needed for that, leaving us with a poorly implemented botch job called the HSE. The government wants to reduce Ireland's carbon footprint but is unwilling to invest into public transport to such a degree that it would have an effect. In fact, it is not even willing to stand up to NIMBYs or special interest groups that are doing their best to sabotage these projects. And don't even get me started on housing!

Add a completely disinterested and apathetic city council, both in its elected member and it's no wonder why Cork is the way it is. This isn't a Cork issue, it's not even a left-vs-right issue, it's an issue that Ireland as a whole is unwilling to commit itself and walk the walk!

Honestly, I'm with you. I'm normally more at home on the left side of the political spectrum in a lot of my views, but I've gotten to the point where I'd welcome even a very hardline law and order approach if it was backed up by the needed funds!

Regarding your social welfare comments, once again, I'm with you: spend smarter, not more! But it's not just an issue of social welfare spending alone. Infrastructure planning is social welfare, urban design is social welfare, education is social welfare and yes, even public security is social welfare. All of these are connected and should be approached as such. The silo approach that's been taken so far is a recipe for disaster.

Feck all is what they're doing. There's a general apathy in the council for anything that doesn't directly help a councilor get re-elected or gets the council CEO another front-page story & positive coverage! The few councilors that do try to get something done, mostly, it has to be said the likes of Lorna Bogue, Fiona Ryan and other left-wing representatives, are bogged down and stonewalled. I think it's time to replace "Statio Bene Fida Carinis" with "Don't rock the boat" as the city motto.

as far as i am aware, that is much more to do with the fact that they generally gut houses completely between tenants

Same thing. But also these houses can sit boarded up for years before they're touched by the council.

Ireland's population has increased from 3.8m in 2000 to almost 5.1m today. An increase of 34%.

None of our infrastructure, health, Justice, housing etc. has kept pace with, or planned for this. A very poor reflection on the abilities of our local and central government planners.

But I suppose as they say you get the government (local & national) that you vote for!

The commonly quoted cost being bandied around of keeping a prisoner locked up (circ €100k in mountjoy) is not wrong, but is more than a little misleading and used to promote certain positions.

Without going into a full blown economics or accountancy lecture, the €100k above represents the average cost of keeping someone locked up and includes all the fixed costs such as the IPS HQ in Longford and costs in the Dept of Justice among others.

In actual fact the cost of putting 1 more individual in prison for a year (the marginal cost) amounts to little more than food and clothing. Hundreds of euro as opposed to the hundreds of thousands quoted. All the other costs are there anyway.

End of lecture😁

But prisons are full. You can't put more prisoners in a full prison for the cost of food and clothing, can you?

If there was lots of capacity in the system, your claim would make sense.

The reality is if we want to lock more people away, it means building, maintaining and staffing more prisons. That doesn't come cheap.