Offered the housing portfolio in 2020, any politician would have needed to think long and hard before accepting. The housing crisis is so severe that a successful stint as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage could make a political career. Realistically, though, failure is more likely, because Ireland’s housing problems are deep-rooted and acute.  Before Covid, there was a gradually escalating pressure and anger over housing costs in Ireland. The mass protests started in the summer of 2018, after the Take Back the City group were forcibly removed from vacant houses in north inner city Dublin. Then, a rally brought…

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